Cleveland Museum of Art

Baptism of Christ

Jacopo TintorettoLinkedCulture matchlcp-dc6fc0a875fb

Date: 1580s
Medium: oil on canvas
Culture: Italy, 16th century
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 127746

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Based on a passage from the New Testament book of Matthew, this work depicts Saint John the Baptist performing Christ's baptism in the river Jordan, during which the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. The powerful modeling of the bodies and luminous color characterize High Renaissance painting in Venice. Because of Tintoretto's pioneering use of rich color, his work was a crucial source for many later artists.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of the Hanna Fund
Provenance: 1738–1775: Count Schulenberg (Zell), sold, Christie's, London, April 12–13, 1775, to William Markham, Bishop of Chester. | by 1853 until at least 1869: by inheritance to his son, Colonel William T. Markham. | until at least 1910: Captain R. A. Markham. | until 1923: E. G. Markham, London and Southcliff, Bembridge, Isle of Wight. | from 1923 to at least 1929: [Durlacher Brothers, London]. | by 1931: Arthur Sachs, Paris and New York. | 1950: [Jacques Seligman & Co., New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.