The Baptism of Christ (Piero della Francesca)
The Baptism of Christ | |
---|---|
Tempera on panel | |
Dimensions | 167 cm × 116 cm (66 in × 46 in) |
Location | National Gallery, London |
The Baptism of Christ is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master
The panel was commissioned presumably some time about 1440 by the Camaldolese Monastery of Sansepolcro in Tuscany, now Sansepolcro Cathedral. Sansepolcro was the town the birthplace of Piero della Francesca. The town depicted in the middle distance in the painting, to Christ's left, may be Sansepolcro. Its dating to Piero della Francesca's early career is evidenced by the strong relationship with the "light painting" of his master, Domenico Veneziano. It was originally part of a triptych, with side panels of St Peter and St Paul and a predella by Matteo di Giovanni dated to the early 1460s, now in the civic art gallery in Sansepolcro.
The composition is centred on the figure of
A second division is created by the walnut tree on the left, with white bark that echoes the white skin of Christ, which divides the painting according to the golden ratio.
Balancing the figure of John to the right, but separated from Jesus by the tree's trunk, are three angels on the left who are wearing different clothing. In a break from traditional iconography, the angels are not supporting Christ's garments, but are holding each other's hands. This could be an allusion to the contemporary
Piero della Francesca was renowned in his times as an authority on perspective and geometry: his attention to the theme is shown by John's arm and leg, which form two angles of the same size.
The monastery in Sansepolcro was dissolved in the 1860s, and the painting was bought by the National Gallery in London in 1861.
References
- Zuffi, Stefano (1991). Piero della Francesca. Milan: Mondadori Arte.
External links
- The Baptism of Christ, Piero della Francesca, National Gallery
- The Baptism of Christ, Piero della Francesca (c.1415–1492), The National Gallery, London, ArtUK
- Page at artonline.it (in Italian)
- Piero wasn't just painting pictures, The Telegraph, 19 August 2011