Valentine De Boulogne (1591-1632) was a French painter, who spent most of his painting career in Rome, Italy.  Little is known about his history, but it is a well-known fact that his painting style was highly influenced by the realistic art of Caravaggio, who utilized the effects of lights and shadows to add emphasis to his creations.  Many of Boulogne’s painting were religious in nature; one of them includes his famous drawing of St. John the Evangelist, which he titled, “St. John the Evangelist.”  John the Evangelist, whose religious day is December 27, was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.  He was known as the disciple that Jesus loved; he was called the “beloved disciple” and was the Patron Saint of fellowship and brotherly love.  The word "evangelist" comes from the Greek word “eu-aggelos” which means “bringing good news.”  He was given this title due to his role as one of the four writers of the four Gospels of the New Testament; he was also the author of the Book of Revelation (Elam).
       This work of art is made of oil on canvas and was thought to be painted around the years of 1622-1623.  This particular painting contains many historical and biblical connotations.  Boulogne is able to brilliantly utilize the effects of various artistic elements, such as lines, lights, and colors to portray the importance of St. John the Evangelist as a saintly and divine person.

            The most noticeable colors are red, black, and white; the color red is the color of the sheet of cloth which can be found on John’s lap.  The color black can be found on most of the background and it is also the color of the article of clothing which John is wearing; the color white is the color of the scroll, which can be found in one of John’s hands.  The dark background enables these colors to be more vibrant in appearance.  John, the focus of the artwork, is located in the center; he seems to be sitting down and has the red sheet of cloth on his lap and a scroll in one of his hands.  He is holding a quill in his other hand located above an open book, which already contains some writing.  There is an eagle above his hand, which seems to blend in with the dark background; its position in the dark background enables it to be easily overlooked by an inattentive viewer.

It is important to note that this eagle’s location in this painting; it is located directly above the book in which John is writing, and in the dark background.  But Boulogne draws a line to this eagle so that the viewer does not overlook it; this line is formed by the quill in John’s hand; it forces the viewer to look up at the eagle.  This suggests that the eagle is important.  It has a biblical significance; it is John’s emblem as an Evangelist.  As an Evangelist, John is also one of the writers of the four Gospels of the New Testament.  Therefore, there is a connection between the eagle and the book, which is located below it; the quill in John’s hand is used to make that connection.  It is possible that the book is symbolic of the New Testament, thus Boulogne is making a link between John’s duty as an Evangelist (writing the Old Testament) and the symbols that represent this duty (the eagle).  Through this particular connection, the viewer is able to get a better understanding of the importance of John’s role as a Saint.

            All of the objects in the painting come together to form a network of lines, which creates a well balanced artwork.  As stated in the previous paragraph, John’s face is the center focus point of the artwork.  Boulogne put a strong emphasis on his face by making it the lightest point of his painting, thus the viewer’s eye is automatically captured by it.  The viewer’s eye continues to move from one lighted area to another by following the various lines of the painting, which come together to form a triangle.  There is a line formed from his face down to the red sheet of cloth and the scroll, and a line from the red sheet of cloth to the book and his hands.  The viewer’s eye, also, goes from John’s face down to his extended hand which is holding the quill and back to the red sheet of cloth.  John’s hand, the book, his face, the red cloth, and scroll, which are all important to the comprehension of the painting, all come together to form a triangle; it is important to note that these areas are the most lighted areas of the painting.

            As one of the original twelve disciples, John was characterized as being the disciple that Jesus loved.  He was the only one of the 12 disciple that did not forsake the Great Teacher at the hour of His death and as a result, the Great Teacher made him the protector of His mother (Elam).  In the painting, John has a red sheet of cloth, which appears smooth in texture, in his lap; this red cloth could symbolize the cloth in which Jesus was covered during his death.  The cloth is bright red in color, to suggest the color of blood.  Also, from observations that I have made, Jesus is many time portrayed having this red-colored cloth in various religious paintings, such as the ones found in many churches and cathedrals.  Thus from this red cloth, Boulogne is able to show the biblical significance of John by utilizing this cloth to display the relationship between John and Jesus.  The expression on John’s face is one of sorrow; as if John is taking a break from his writing to think about Jesus.  Through this expression, John is depicted as a divine man, who had a great amount of love for his teacher and he is sad that his teacher has died.  The viewer could also see that John misses his teacher; this is portrayed by the fact that John has Jesus’ cloak on his lap.

            The lines, colors, balance, and lighting of this artwork do not only make it a fascinating piece of art, but they also add to the significance of St. John the Evangelist.  Although this painting seems very simple in nature, it is very effective in portraying its message.  Boulogne is able to do this by carefully positioning various objects so that they connect to display the love that John had for Jesus, and his duty as a religious figure.  It is fascinating to see how Boulogne is able to do this without using much scenery; he utilizes only five objects to effectively portray the character of St. John the Evangelist.    

Back to top

Elam, Phillip G. “St. John the Evangelist, Patron Saint.” Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free
    and Accepted Masons of the State of Missouri, 2000.  6 Apr. 2005   
    <http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/1190/stjohne.html>