SAINT JOHN THE FORERUNNER, ANGEL IN THE DESERT, MOSCOW, 17th century

St John depicted full-length with wings outspread and wearing a camel hair tunic beneath a dark green mantle, in a later silver-gilt oklad

This image is typical of the Moscow iconographic type. The Novgorod Saint John is usually garbed in an ochre coloured chiton and a blue or green himation. Characteristic features are his long hair and beard which falls into locks. With his right hand, Saint John makes a gesture of blessing; in his left hand he holds an opened scroll together with a chalice which contains his head.
Representations of St John the Forerunner as an angel derive from the passage from Isaiah, quoted at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark: 'Behold, I send my messenger (Greek angelos) before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee'.  Orthodox Christians refer to him as the 'Angel of the Desert'.