Chasuble with Medallion Depicting John the Baptist

Description

The primary feature of this important vestment is the tondo or circular scene showing John the Baptist standing beside the kneeling Christ, executed entirely in needlework. It is based on a fresco painted by the High Renaissance artist Andrea del Sarto that dates between 1502 and 1517.

Provenance

Blumka Gallery, New York, by Mar. 30, 1970 [incoming receipt RX7934, Apr. 2, 1970; copy in curatorial object file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1971.

Chasuble with Medallion Depicting John the Baptist

Andrea del Sarto

1575/1625

Accession Number

36135

Medium

Linen, plain weave underlaid with silk, plain weave with insert medallion of silk, warp-float faced satin weave; embroidered with silk and gilt- and silvered-metal-strip-wrapped silk and linen in satin, split and stem stitches; couching and French knots; edged with silk and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, plain weave with patterning wefts and complementary weft weave tapes; lined with silk, plain weave

Dimensions

109.5 × 73.3 cm (43 1/8 × 28 7/8 in.)

Classification

textile

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Grace R. Smith Textile Endowment