Saint John on Patmos

Saint John on Patmos

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Writing on a long scroll, the youthful saint records divinely inspired revelations. The composition conforms to a well-known type of the evangelist-author portrait, which shows the evangelists writing their Gospels. Due to his youthfulness, he probably represents Saint John, who, in addition to his own Gospel, was believed to have written the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) while living in exile on the Greek Island of Patmos. This episode is frequently portrayed in late medieval manuscripts.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Saint John on PatmosSaint John on PatmosSaint John on PatmosSaint John on PatmosSaint John on Patmos

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.