St. John Preaching in the Desert 1535 - 1555

Jean Mignon made this print, "St. John Preaching in the Desert," around 1550 in France, using etching. The image shows John the Baptist delivering a sermon in a wooded area. Prints like these were relatively inexpensive and widely distributed at the time. This image is particularly interesting because the artist was part of the School of Fontainebleau. The school grew around the royal chateau and promoted Italian Renaissance styles in France. In this print, we can see the Italian influence in the figure of John, who looks like a classical statue. But the congregation is more interesting. They aren't idealized at all. Mignon included people from different social classes, and they don't all seem to be paying attention. Is Mignon commenting on the social role of the church here? Or on the state of religious belief in France at the time? To find out, we'd want to look at church history and popular culture in France in the mid-16th century. Considering this history might open up new ways of interpreting Mignon's work.