No recorded picture by Titian has this title. Cook and Wedderburn comment ( Works, 3.173) that it is not clear which picture Ruskin is referring to here. They suggest it might be St. John Baptist, and other pictures by Titian in the Accademia at the time are even less plausible candidates for the title. Nevertheless it does seem an odd way of referring to a picture in which, though there is a rocky foreground, the figure of St. John is dominant. Perhaps the connection in Ruskin's mind is with St.Luke, Chapter 1 Verse 80, referring to St. John: 'And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts until the day of his shewing unto Israel.' For an explicit reference by Ruskin to the painting of St. John Baptist see Works, 4.189
St. John Baptist was painted for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice where it remained until it was moved to the gallery of the Academy of Venice in 1807.
Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) c.1490-1576
St. John the Baptist in the Desert c.1545-50
Oil on canvas, 201x134cm
Exhibitions: Venice, 1935, 1946, 1981; London, 1983-4
Provenance: Originates from the Santa Maria Maggiore; removed, and consigned to Accademia in Venice, 1807;restored by O. Nonfarmale, 1981
Collection: Accademia, Venice
For a reproduction of this artistic work, please consult: Wethey, Harold E., Titian: The Religious Paintings, (Phaidon, 1969), pl.165 or alternatively www.abcgallery.com/T/titian/titian40.html