Johannes de Evangelist 1781 - 1809

John B. Skippe created this chiaroscuro woodcut, "Johannes de Evangelist," during the eighteenth century. The image depicts John the Evangelist, traditionally associated with the eagle, one of the four evangelist symbols. Skippe lived in a time when traditional religious authority was being questioned by Enlightenment thinkers. It's fascinating to consider how this social and intellectual shift influenced artistic interpretations of biblical figures. The choice to depict John with his symbol, the eagle, could be read as a move toward the symbolic, rather than literal, interpretation of scripture, in keeping with the intellectual trends of the time. To understand this work further, one could look at the broader context of religious art in the 18th century and explore the changing role of the Church as an institution.