It has long doubted the authenticity of this painting, although there are other versions of the same subject made by Caravaggio in a manner quite similar.
We see a young St. John the Baptist without a beard, half naked and covered by a red cloak, with the stick to cross, resting at his side, but without the traditional fur of the camel that appear in other versions.
Caravaggio depicts a moment of rest during the life of penance of John in the desert, but in comparison to the traditional iconography of the attributes of the saint are almost marginalized: the bowl, with which John poured the water in the baptism of Jesus is as private of his sacred role, while the cross is barely visible, hidden by the edge of the painting.
In this way, Caravaggio has updated the representation of the young Baptist in the wilderness, giving it greater immediacy to a theme that was repeatedly provided interpretations, blending the sacred and the profane.