Jodocus Vredis

JODOCUS VREDIS (c.1473-1540)
"Johannesschüssel",
Bronze.
Measurements: 18 x 1.5 cm.
This medallion in relief represents the decapitated head of St. John the Baptist, an iconography of strong symbolic and devotional charge that goes back to the biblical story narrated in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 6,16-29). According to tradition, King Herod, instigated by the request of the daughter of Herodias, ordered the beheading of John the Baptist, whose head was delivered in a bowl. From the end of the Middle Ages, this motif spread widely, especially in liturgical, theatrical (as in the mysteries) and private devotional contexts, serving also as a votive object to which protective properties were attributed against diseases of the head and neck.
The work represented here is one of the many versions derived from the famous Johannesschüssel, attributed to the German sculptor Jodocus Vredis (c. 1473-1540), active in the region of Münster at the beginning of the 16th century. The original of this series is preserved in the Landesmuseum in Münster, where there is also a ceramic version with a similar arrangement: the relief head of St. John in the center, surrounded by an inscription on the rim. The relief we observe, made in bronze and probably conceived as a portable or hanging object, repeats this compositional formula with remarkable fidelity.
The Latin inscription surrounding the image "NON SURREXIT INTER NATOS MULIERUM MAJOR IOHANNE BAPTISTA" is a quotation from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 11:11), which emphasizes the spiritual greatness of John the Baptist: "Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist". This panegyric, also present in other historical specimens such as the 13th century Genoa agate plate or the specimen in the Cluny Museum, emphasizes the sacred character of the martyr and reinforces the devotional use of the object.
The facial expression of the Baptist, serene and resigned, along with the detailed treatment of the hair and beard, reveals a late Gothic sensibility in dialogue with the transition to the Renaissance in northern Europe. The use of bronze gives the work an enduring and solemn character, while its circular design allows for a simultaneous visual and textual reading, facilitating its use in both processions and private devotional practices.