St John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos

The saint is shown from the waist up, holding a quill and inkwell as he writes in a book labeled 'APOCALIPS'. A scroll containing the opening words of the Gospel of John rests in his hand. In the background, a harbor features several Renaissance-era ships on a calm sea under a pale sky.

St. John was a central figure for Renaissance Neoplatonists, who linked his concept of the 'Logos' (the Word) to Platonic ideas of divine reason. His role as the author of the Book of Revelation made him the primary archetype for the visionary tradition within Western esotericism.