A self-confident curly-haired John the Baptist stares back at us from this base. His adult posture and the attribute, the lamb, warn the spectator of the faith that awaits Christ.

The figure seems to be part of the spectator’s own world. He participates in the limited, narrative spectacle. The hand gestures seem to be engaged in a wordless dialogue. John points at the lamb, in a visual representation of ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ (Behold the Lamb of God), the words he pronounced when Jesus visited him to be baptised (John 1:29). He conveys an ominous message, which at the same time is a message of salvation for the world. This realistically rendered and impressively tangible sculpture of John, which resembles a snapshot frozen in time, unconditionally captures the spectator’s attention.

Sibylla Goegebuer