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An expressive work from Bergler's early period, when he worked in Italy (Milan and Rome). The strong resonance of Italian Baroque painting is still evident. The figure of St. John, though kneeling, expresses the powerful motion of body and mind. The painter's work with the light assists the strong expressive effect -- the contrast of the radiating body in the gloomy landscape, with a gentle reference to the lamb standing in the background. A number of canvases with a religious theme were created in the 1780s to decorate churches in Italy as well as Bergler's native Germany. In 1800 Bergler was appointed the first director of the newly established Academy in Prague, where he influenced a number of Czech artists, including Václav Prachner, Josef Navrátil, Josef Mánes and many more. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in bottom right J. Bergler Pinxit 1782.