Art Traveling
Gerard David / Baptism of Christ
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Baptism of Christ

c. 1502–1508 · Oil on panel

Christ stands in a shallow stream as John the Baptist pours water over him, set in a richly detailed Flemish landscape beneath God the Father and the dove of the Holy Spirit.

ArtistGGerard David
MuseumGGroeningemuseum
MovementEEarly Netherlandish Painting
LocationBruges, Belgium
Genrereligious art
Dimensions132 × 182.4 cm
SourceWikidata Q602530

Why it matters

Christ is baptised in the Jordan with an angel holding his clothes, while the landscape flows across all three panels and the foreground is filled with plants and flowers.

Did you know?

  • It was painted between 1502 and 1508.
  • The donor Jan des Trompes, treasurer of Bruges, appears on the left panel.
  • It is in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges.

Based on the Wikipedia article The Baptism of Christ (David) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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