John or Bacchus? A Riddle Da Vinci Never Answered

This room sometimes displays two Leonardo works side by side or on rotation — Saint John the Baptist and Saint John (or Bacchus). Note that, depending on the timing, neither may be on view.\n\nSaint John the Baptist is believed to be Leonardo's final painting. John was Jesus's cousin, born about six months earlier. He earned the title "the Baptist" because he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River — immersing him in water, the Christian ritual for washing away sin. Because of that role, John is often painted as an infant alongside baby Jesus, or shown pointing toward him.\n\nHere too, the figure points toward a cross, and since the cross symbolizes Christ, that gesture is the main reason this painting is identified as John. But the clothing raises a question. The Gospel of Mark describes John as wearing camel hide, yet the figure here wears leopard skin — a material traditionally associated with Bacchus, the god of wine. So whether this is John or Bacchus remains genuinely debated; the Louvre currently labels it as John.\n\nThe companion painting nearby doesn't even try to settle the question — its title is simply Saint John (or Bacchus). It shows the full figure, holding what looks like a cross but is, on closer look, just a plain staff. The figure again wears leopard-print fur, but this time grapevines appear in the background too, another nod to Bacchus. Yet the resemblance to the previous John painting is so strong that no one can say for certain.

Because Leonardo never clarified who he intended to paint, viewers today are left to form their own theories — is it John, Bacchus, or someone else entirely?