This long panel from the altar of San Marco depicts St. John, also called the Theologian, alone on the island of Patmos.
The sea is surrounded by a green island; the saint sits among the harsh naked rocks: this situation is fitting for the creator of the apocalyptic prophecies, continuing the fourth Gospel he wrote.
John began his journey when, together with his brother Jacob, he left his fisherman’s trade and went after Christ. There is an opinion that the simplicity of this altar panel is the answer to the much more complex work of the young Leonardo da Vinci.
Related Paintings 
The altar of San Marco, or the Coronation of Mary with the angels, the Evangelist John and St. Augustine, Jerome and Eligius by Sandro Botticelli 
Saint Jean le théologien, écrivant sur le livre de révélation de Patmos – Sandro Botticelli 
St. John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos by Hieronymus Bosch 
Miracle of St. Eligia by Sandro Botticelli 
Apostle John the Evangelist by El Greco 
San Juan el teólogo, escribiendo el Libro de la Revelación en Patmos – Sandro Botticelli 
John the Theologian and Prokhor 
Madonna with a book by Sandro Botticelli
The altar of San Marco, or the Coronation of Mary with the angels, the Evangelist John and St. Augustine, Jerome and Eligius by Sandro Botticelli Saint Jean le théologien, écrivant sur le livre de révélation de Patmos – Sandro Botticelli St. John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos by Hieronymus Bosch Miracle of St. Eligia by Sandro Botticelli Apostle John the Evangelist by El Greco San Juan el teólogo, escribiendo el Libro de la Revelación en Patmos – Sandro Botticelli John the Theologian and Prokhor Madonna with a book by Sandro Botticelli