Bust of a Youth (Saint John the Baptist)

This is a marble bust, which means a sculpture of a person's head, neck and upper chest. It is small, about forty centimeters tall, and it sits on a base of black marble with pale veining. At first it looks like a portrait of a real young man. But his clothing and expression suggest he is a figure from myth or the Bible. His head turns sharply to one side, and his mouth is open, as if you have caught him in the middle of speaking. Start with the face, then follow the turn of the head.

Look first at the hair. The curls are cut deeply into the stone and twist like corkscrews, so they seem to bounce around the head. Then move down to the face. The skin looks soft, almost like flesh rather than stone. Finally, look at the mouth. The lips are parted, and that small gap is what makes him seem to be speaking. Now follow the direction of his turned head and glance past his shoulder. He seems to be talking to someone who is not there.

This bust was made between 1630 and 1640 by Francesco Mochi, an Italian sculptor who lived from 1580 to 1654. He was one of the most talented and individual sculptors working in seventeenth-century Rome. He had extraordinary skill in carving marble, and he could show subtle shades of feeling in a face. His work is known for energetic lines, dramatic movement and quiet psychological insight. Because the bust is so small, it was probably made for private contemplation, meant to be studied closely by one person rather than seen in a grand public space.

The open mouth is the clue to who this is. It suggests Saint John the Baptist, who was a preacher and foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. Instead of showing him calm and still, the sculptor catches him in the act of speaking. The turn of the head draws you into a conversation, as though you were the person he is addressing, or had just walked in on it. Stay a moment longer at the lips and imagine the words he might be saying.