Paintings, Portraits, and Artwork of St. John the Evangelist and Apostle

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

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Piero della Francesca (c. 1415-1492), St. John the Evangelist (c. 1454-1469), tempera on poplar panel (133.99 cm x 62.23 cm), The Frick Collection, New York. Panel of the Sant'Agostino altarpiece. Larger image.
Christian art usually represents St. John with an eagle, symbolizing the hights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of St. John (perhaps not adopted until the thirteenth century) probably came from Jesus'words to John and James, "My chalice indeed you shall drink" (Matthew 20:23). There is a legend that St. John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Giotto Di Bonde

Filippo Lippi, St. John the Evangelist (1420s), panel 43x32 cm, Princeton, New Jersey, Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection.

Pedro Burruguette, St. John the Evangelist from the St. Thomas altarpiece.

Francesco Furini, St. John the Evangelist (1630s), oil on canvas. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon. Looks young. Another.

Aidan Hart, St. John the Evangelist, Shrewsbury School

Fra Angelico, Mary and the Christ Child and Saints (1437-1446), fresco, Museo San Marco, Florence, Mary and the Christ Child surrounded by the evangelists and saints. John with forked beard to the right of the Christchild.

Alonso Cano, St. John the Evangelist with the Poisoned Cup (1636), oil on canvas, 52 x 35 cm, Musee du Louvre, Paris.

Diego Velázquez, St. John the Evangelist on Patmos (1619-1620), National Gallery, London. Oil on canvas, 135x8 x 102.3. Another.

Circle of A. Rublev, St. John the Evangelist. Gospels, 1st quarter of 15th century, Gospels moscow.

Hans Memling, John the Evangelist (c. 1468), oil on panel, 71 x 30 cm, National Gallery, London

El Greco

Francisco de Zurbaran, St John the Evangelist on Patmos

Simon Ushakov, St. John the Theologian (1673), Sergiev Posad State History and Art Museum-Reserve, Moscow.  another. Older man, more pensive.

Jacob Pontormo

Johnnes von Dürer, Apostle John by Dürer. another.

Piero della Francesca (c. 1415-1492), St. John the Evangelist (c. 1454-1469), tempera on poplar panel (133.99 cm x 62.23 cm), The Frick Collection, New York. Panel of the Sant'Agostino altarpiece. Another.

Bernardo Cavallino, 'St John the Evangelist'  (1641-43) oil on canvas, private collection.

Cavallino, 'Saint John the Evangelist'

Carlo Crivelli (c. 1435-c. 1495)

Vittorio Crivelli, John the Evangelist (c. 1500)

St.John the Evangelist (12th century), fresco, St.John's Chapel, Village of Pürgg, Austria

Segna di Bonaventura, St John the Evangelist (1320s), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

St. John the Evangelist, Chapel at Notre Dame, fresco

Peter Nicolai Arbo, The Apostle John (Norwegian painter, 1831-1892), Apostle John (1886). Earnest shaved man praying.

Andrea Mantegna, St. John the evangelist, detail of the St. Lucas altarpiece, Pinacoteca di Brera, Mailand.

Macrino d'Alba, Saints John and Michael (before c. 1521) tempera on panel, 61 x 42 cm, Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo, Italy. Another.

Cimabue, John, detail of mosaic in Dom of Pisa, Enthroned Christ with Mary and John (1301-1302)

Correggio, John the Evangelist, fresco in the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Lünette, Szene.

Guido Reni, St. John the Evangelist (1621), Bob Jones University.

Andrea del Castagno, St John the Evangelist (1442), fresco, San Zaccaria, Venice. Another.

 

Paintings about Light

William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), The Light of the World (1853-54), Keble College chapel, Oxford, full size: St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Another.

Max Hegele (1873-1945), "St. John" mosaic, Karl-Borromäus-Kirche (St. Charles Borromeo church; 1908-1911), Vienna Central Cemetery, Austria, Architect. Example of Jugenstil (Art Nouveau) architecture.

Collections

Art and Images related to John's Gospel compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Wikipedia Commons

Christian Art and Paintings: Abraham Art | Agnus Dei Art | Angel Art | Annunciation Art | Celtic Stone Cross Art | Christian Symbols and Art | Christmas Art | David |  Easter Art | Elijah | Passion of Christ by Tissot | Gideon | Hebrew-Jewish Art | Holy Week Art | Jacob | Jesus' Ministry Art | Jesus' Teaching Art | Jesus Portraits and Art | John the Baptist | John the Apostle | Lamb of God Art | Last Supper Art | Madonna & Child Art | Moses and the Exodus | Names of God Art | OT Misc Art | Psalms Art | Palm Sunday Art | Paul Art and Paintings | Day of Pentecost Art | Peter Art and Paintings | Prayer Art | Resurrection Art | Revelation Art | Solomon |Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Art | Timothy Art and Paintings
Copyright of artwork. Much, but not all, of the artwork linked to on this site is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before 1923), at least in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries.

Copyright © 2025, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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