St. John the Baptist(Tanzio da Varallo)
There are similar treatments of this composition with St. John the Baptist; the first in the Museum of Tulsa, U.S.A. and the second in a Private Milanese Collection, but more than the others this painting by Tanzio da Varallo seems to be more closely connected to the Caravaggesque idea with its smooth plastic modelling and strong chiaroscuro. Our St. John the Baptist may be dated around 1628, the year in which the artist was working in the Chapel of the Guardian Angel at S. Gaudenzio, Novara and the same period during which Tanzio da Varallo appears to turn from a more mannerist style to Caravaggesque realism as illustrated by the Bellogno altarpiece in Novara of the same date.
Marchese Gicacchino d’Adda, Varallo, 1815
Dr. Gustavo Frizzoni, Milan
Doetzch Sale, 1895
Private Collection England