Title: John the Baptist

Artist: Harburger Altar

Saint John the Baptist About 1925 (Note: Image says 1925, but artist dates suggest a typo for 1525) Master of the Harburger Altar German, active about 1500–1535 Partially polychromed limewood Saint John the Baptist cradles the Holy Lamb, a symbol of the sacrificial Christ. The sculpture illustrates the saint’s exclamation, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Glimpsed beneath his billowing mantle is a tattered shift of camel’s skin, as described in the Bible. The camel’s bearded head rests between the saint’s feet. Originally the sculpture was one of two figures flanking a central figure of Christ or the Virgin and Child within a winged altarpiece. It has lost most of its original paint.