Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos
- Artist: Diego Velázquez
- Date: 1618-19
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos by Diego Velázquez. Painted in the Spanish style, it's one of his earliest known works and it shows a powerful vision from the Book of Revelation.
We see Saint John sitting with an oversized book in his lap, his quill pen poised as he looks towards the tiny figure hovering above him in the clouds. She is often understood to be the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, and this vision is associated with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception - the belief that Mary was conceived without sin.
The scene is dark but you can just make out a sea and mountains in the background. There are some haphazard brushstrokes on the upper right which were originally covered up but have become visible over time. This painting is paired with another one by Velázquez, The Immaculate Conception, where the Virgin Mary is shown standing on a moon surrounded by stars.
This subject was also painted by other artists of the time, but what's interesting here is how Velázquez depicts Saint John as a relatively youthful figure - unlike in traditional paintings where he's often depicted as an old man. This gives us a glimpse into Velázquez's unique style and his approach to depicting religious scenes from everyday life.
See it in person
Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
