This engaging little scene, full of lifelike detail comes from a series of panels that tell the story of the life of John the Baptist, the prophet who preached the coming of Christ as the Messiah. They once formed a predella, the lowest part of a multi-panelled altarpiece.
The saint has just been born; the story of his birth is recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. His father Zacharias, shown here as an old man, had a vision of an angel who told him he would have a son and call him John. Zacharias was amazed: he and his wife had never been able to conceive and were now both elderly.
As a result of his disbelief the angel took away Zacharias’s voice. Because he could not speak, we see Zacharias writing John’s name in a book resting on his knee.
This little scene, full of lifelike detail, comes from a series of panels that tell the story of the life of John the Baptist. They once formed a predella, the lowest part of a multi-panelled altarpiece.
The saint has just been born; his head is framed by a large golden halo. He is propped up on his wet-nurse’s knee, his arms wrapped around her neck. His mother Elizabeth sleeps in the large bed behind, the shape of her legs visible under the covers. Her golden halo blends into her gilded bedstead which, like the foot of the bed, is decorated with little figures playing musical instruments. These are probably angels; their costume resembles those of angels in religious paintings of this period. Beds painted with religious subjects still survive – there is one painted with a scene of the Virgin and Child in the Ospedale del Ceppo in Pistoia.
The story of John the Baptist’s birth is recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. His father Zacharias, shown here as an old man, received a vision when he was making an offering in the temple. An angel appeared and told him that he and his wife would have a son and they would call him John. Zacharias was amazed: he and Elizabeth had never been able to conceive and were now both elderly. The angel punished him for his disbelief, saying, ‘you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.’
As he couldn‘t speak, we see Zacharias writing John’s name in the book resting on his knee. According to the Gospel account, it was very unusual that they called him John, a name not used by their family. It was more common to name a son after his father. Here, however, Zacharias fulfils the words of the angel Gabriel. By including this detail Giovanni di Paolo makes reference to the divine nature of John’s birth without having to include the scene of Zacharias’s angelic vision.
The artist has arranged the scene in a similar way to images that show the birth of the Virgin Mary, which were often – like this – painted on a small scale. The furnishings of the room are positioned at an awkward angle – the wall that includes the chimney converges with the foot of the bed to form a narrow ’V' – but this allows the artist to include the painted bed and the fire where the maid dries a cloth. On the floor next to her are the gilded jug and basin that have been used to wash the baby. An archway at the back of the room leads through to further open doorways, giving the impression of the other rooms in the house.
One of the most striking elements of the picture is Zacharias’s gracefully rippling blue drapery. Technical analysis shows that the artist drew this spontaneously freehand, directly onto the prepared panel, before painting over it.
