# The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist

**Juan de Flandes** (Netherlandish, c. 1460–1519)  
1496–99  
oil on wood  
Framed: 99 x 60 x 7.5 cm (39 x 23 5/8 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 88.4 x 49.9 cm (34 13/16 x 19 5/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.3. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.3).

## About this work

Typical of Flemish art of the period, this scene suggests a comfortable home of the late 1400s in the Netherlands to frame the story of a biblical birth. Elizabeth, mother of Saint John the Baptist, rests after her labor, while her cousin, the Virgin Mary, presents the newborn to his father, Zacharias. Having lost his ability to speak when he doubted an angel’s prophecy of the child’s birth, Zacharias writes down his son’s name. At this moment, his speech is restored. This painting was once part of an altarpiece commissioned by Queen Isabella I of Castile, known as the Catholic (1451–1504), for a monastery near Burgos.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Juan de Flandes painted this in 1496–99, aged about 36. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Juan de Flandes](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/juan-de-flandes)

Netherlandish, c. 1460–1519

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Flanders, early 16th Century
- The artist was about 36
- Real size: about 35 × 20 in (88 × 50 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 15th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/686.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/686/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-birth-and-naming-of-john-the-baptist-cma-148301).