Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos

Titian and Workshop

National Gallery of Art

From far below, we look up at an older man with standing on a cliff edge or rocky ledge with his arms raised as he turns his head to gaze up to a second man and winged, child-like angels surrounded by clouds in the sky above in this square painting. All the people have pale, peachy skin. The man on the ledge, Saint John, half crouches with knees bent so his body is angled to our right, and he turns his head back to our left to look up to the clouds. Both hands are raised with palms facing up. Saint John has a short, curly white beard and hair, and we see the bottom of his chin, nose, and eyes under heavy brows. He wears a light, rose-pink tunic with crimson drapery across his shoulders billowing around his body. Next to him on the rocky ledge is a book with a scarlet-red cover to our left and a brown eagle to our right. The eagle slightly lifts its wings and looks to our left in profile, mouth open and tongue visible. Tufts of grass and plants grow near Saint John’s feet. The aqua-colored sky fills most of the composition behind Saint John, and a bank of silvery gray clouds lit with pale yellow swirls across the top half of the painting. At the center of the clouds, the second man has a long, white beard and white hair, and wears a muted plum-purple robe. He raises his right hand, to our left, palm down with the first two fingers and thumb extended. Six winged, nude young children nestle near this second man or flutter among the clouds.