St John the Baptist is resting during his time in the wilderness, where he lived on water, locusts and honey. The bowl symbolises the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan, performed by St John. Technical examinations have shown that this is a contemporary copy of a work by Caravaggio and that it follows the original closely. Manfredi was heavily influenced by the style of Caravaggio and by his use of dramatic light. He became the leading artist among the so-called Caravaggisti in Rome.