Artista di scuola italiana, San Giovanni, XVII secolo, Olio su tela

Italian School of the 17th century. "San Juan Evangelista" oil on canvas without frame 35cm x 24 John (Bethsaida, about 10 – Ephesus, 98 or immediately following years) was an apostle of Jesus. Christian tradition identifies him with the author of the fourth gospel and for this reason he is also given the epithet of evangelist. He is considered a myroblite saint [Note 1]. According to the narratives of the canonical gospels, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of the apostle James the Greater. Before following Jesus, he was a disciple of John the Baptist. Tradition attributes to him a special role within the circle of the twelve apostles: included in the small group also including Peter and James the Greater, it identifies him, although this hypothesis is not currently shared, with "the disciple whom Jesus loved", participant in the main events of the life and ministry of the master and the only one of the apostles present at his death on the cross. According to ancient Christian traditions, John died at an advanced age in Ephesus, the last survivor of the twelve apostles and the only one to have died of natural causes. Christian tradition has attributed to him five New Testament texts: the Gospel according to John, the three Letters of John and the Apocalypse of John; many contemporary critics, including Christians, believe instead that these texts are probably not attributable to the apostle John. Another work attributed to him is the Apocryphon of John (not recognized as a divinely inspired text by the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church). Due to the speculative depth of his writings, he has traditionally been referred to as "the theologian" par excellence, artistically depicted with the symbol of the eagle, attributed to him because, with his vision described in the Apocalypse, he contemplated the True Light of the Word, as described in the Prologue of the fourth Gospel, just as the eagle, it was believed, can directly stare at the sunlight.