Saint John on Patmos

It was on the island of Patmos that Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation. Beside him rests his symbol, the eagle, holds the saint's ink pot. In the sky above is a vision of a woman and child ('the Woman clothed with the Sun') and the seven-headed dragon of the Apocalypse. On the ground near John is a small devil who may be attempting to prevent him from writing.

The approach to the subject appears to derive from the work of Patinir, but the landscape and figure seem consistent with other studio products of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths.