The Young Saint John the Baptist

Gregorio di Lorenzo (Master of the Marble Madonnas)

National Gallery of Art

The head and shoulders of a young, smiling boy are carved from cream-white marble in this free-standing sculpture. In this photograph, his shoulders face us, and he looks slightly down and to our left. He has short, wavy hair that curls onto his forehead, and his skin is smooth. He has a short, straight nose, and his closed lips are turned up in a smile. He has rounded cheeks, and his chin has a shallow dimple. He wears a textured garment resembling fur and a swath of fabric falls over his right shoulder, on our left. The background behind him lightens from dark gray along the top to smoke gray along the bottom edge of the photograph.