John the Baptist
Artist / maker
George Minne (sculptors)Date
1895Period
19th centuryCollection
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent
Before World War I, George Minne hardly explored any Christian themes in his work. Instead the artist preferred more universal themes, mainly emphasising the deeply human emotion and expression in his subjects. At times, the artist did start from Christian themes, e.g., in John the Baptist. The graphic design and the undulations and curves of this sculpture are reminiscent of…
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Before World War I, George Minne hardly explored any Christian themes in his work. Instead the artist preferred more universal themes, mainly emphasising the deeply human emotion and expression in his subjects. At times, the artist did start from Christian themes, e.g., in John the Baptist. The graphic design and the undulations and curves of this sculpture are reminiscent of his Praying Nun and point to the influence of the Art nouveau style. The sculpture exists in a plaster and a blue stone version, which the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent both owns. Minne created several preliminary studies for his sculpture of John the Baptist. They show how the artist starts from the kneeling John the Baptist to create various studies of the kneeling young men.
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