The altarpiece entitled "St John Taking Leave of his Parents ", was produced by Garofalo for the Cappela Mazzoni of the Church of San Salvatore in Bologna; on the step bottom right you can read: Benvenutus Garofalus, Ferrariensis Faciebat MDXXXXII. As the title suggests, the artist painted St. John the Baptist in the desert about to leave for the mission entrusted to him, as a precursor of Christ. This prophecy comes true in the scene that is glimpsed in the background: the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. The intimacy of the familiar scene is accentuated by the gaze of the Virgin which is directed obliquely to the child. Their figures, and that of Zechariah, as well as the constant references to classicism, and the iconographic quotes, testifies that Garofalo style is mature, and that is influenced by Girolamo Carpi, with whom in those years, the artist was working together with Battista Dosso.

Copyrighted image: “By courtesy of  MiBACT – Superintendence of Fine Arts and Landscape for the City of Bologna, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara”, artwork forming part of the Fondo Edifici di Culto (FEC), administered by the Direzione Centrale per l'Amministrazione del Fondo Edifici di Culto del Ministero dell'Interno