St. John the Baptist with a Lamb

This limestone statue, which still retains traces of its original painted surface, reveals the impact of Claus Sluter, a renowned Dutch sculptor who was born in Haarlem and arrived at the Burgundy Court in Dijon in 1385. The court was a center of artistic production and patronage known especially for the naturalism of its art. The careful differentiation of textures and attention to surface detail reflects Sluter's influence, though other aspects suggest it is the work of a Burgundian sculptor active in the generation after Sluter.

While nearly all the objects on view in this room were acquired by Pierpont Morgan himself, this sculpture was given to the Morgan in 1941 by Frieda Schiff Warburg, widow of the banker, Felix M. Warburg. A remarkable philanthropist, Frieda Warburg also donated their family home on the Upper East Side to house New York's Jewish Museum.