Saint John Writes the Book Revelation on the Isle of Patmos
Artist / maker
Gaspar de Crayer (painters (artists))Date
ca. 1649 - ca. 1669Period
17 centuryCollection
Museum of Fine Arts Ghent
In Saint John Writes the Book Revelation on the Isle of Patmos, which originally hung in the town hall in Ghent, we recognise Christ’s favourite disciple, the apostle John. The eagle and the pen are attributes he is frequently portrayed with and they reveal him to be the writer of the last and most spiritual of all the gospels. Following…
Read more
In Saint John Writes the Book Revelation on the Isle of Patmos, which originally hung in the town hall in Ghent, we recognise Christ’s favourite disciple, the apostle John. The eagle and the pen are attributes he is frequently portrayed with and they reveal him to be the writer of the last and most spiritual of all the gospels. Following Jesus’ Ascension to heaven, John settled in Ephesus. He was persecuted for playing an active role in the spread of Christianity before finally being banned to the island of Patmos. Here he wrote the Revelations, or the Apocalypse, a prophetic book in which the terrifying end of mankind is described in hallucinatory images. De Crayer’s depiction of the visionary moment of inspiration is rather dramatic and typical of this master’s late work. The man who posed for the figure of St John can also be seen in Rubens’ triptych for the tomb of Jan Michielsen in the cathedral in Antwerp.
Read less
