Baptism of Christ
Gerard David, 1502
The Baptism of Christ Triptych is an oil-on-panel altarpiece that Gerard David painted around 1502-1508, within the Flemish Primitive tradition of the late Gothic. The central panel shows Christ's baptism in the Jordan: John the Baptist pours water over Jesus while an angel holds his garments. Above the scene, aligned vertically with Christ, appear God the Father and the dove of the Holy Spirit. The green landscape stretching across the back includes episodes from the life of John the Baptist, and the foreground is detailed with plants and flowers. The side wings are donor portraits. On the left, Jan de Trompes, treasurer of Bruges, is presented by John the Evangelist, his patron saint; on the right, his second wife, Elisabeth van der Meersch, is presented by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. The most distinctive feature is the landscape, which runs continuously across all three panels, turning the work into a single unified scene.
- Painter
- Gerard David
- Date
- 1502
- Medium
- oil paint, panel
- Dimensions
- 132 × 182 cm
- Museum
- Vlaamse Kunstcollectie
- Movement
- Early Netherlandish painting
- Genre
- religious art
- Depicts
- Elizabeth of Hungary, God the Father, Baptism of Jesus, Jesus Christ, John the Evangelist, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist
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