St. John

Alfred Stevens 1818 - 1875

Summary

Reclining figure of St John the Evangelist propped up on right elbow, resting head on hand, gazing upwards, left hand resting on knee. An eagle with wings outsretched stands at his feet. Cast with pedestal. A sketch model for the reclining figure of St. John the Evangelist, with his symbol the Eagle. This is a version of the sketch model of about 1862 for the recumbent figure of St. John proposed by Alfred Stevens for the decoration of the dome in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (it was intended to go in one of the spandrels beneath the great dome). Between 1862 and 1865 Steven’s was commissioned to produce designs for the proposed redecoration of St Paul’s, a project that did not in the end, come to fruition. See this version in the V&A: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O313497/st-john-sketch-modelalfred-stevens/ A bronze version is in the National Gallery, Melbourne: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3599/