Sculptuur van Johannes de Doper door Giambologna op een wijwaterbak in de Dom van Pisa, Italië 1860 - 1881

Giacomo Brogi captured this sculpture of John the Baptist by Giambologna in a photograph taken inside the Cathedral of Pisa. John is seen holding a baptismal bowl, a symbol of purification and spiritual rebirth, and a cross, alluding to Christ's future. The image of John the Baptist as a wild prophet connects to a lineage of ascetics and hermits throughout history. We find echoes of this figure in the Greek Cynics, who rejected societal norms, and even further back in the ancient shamans who wandered the wilderness, seeking enlightenment. The halo around John's head signifies holiness, derived from the Roman use of halos to indicate power and divinity. The cross he holds is a symbol that predates Christianity, representing cosmological ideas about the intersection of the divine and the earthly. The symbol has undergone a profound transformation, now evoking themes of sacrifice, redemption, and faith. This photograph is a powerful force, engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. It embodies a non-linear, cyclical progression of symbols, that have resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.