Baptism of Christ

Baptism of Christ

(1450)

             I believe that the color(s) within a composition can have a profound affect on a person’s mood.  Due to the cool pastel colors and earth tones I feel that this particular piece is very calming and peaceful.  Balance is also something that I find relaxing, this piece is very well balanced and depicts movement with a sense of being grounded. 

             Piero della Francesca was an Italian artist who was one of the greatest artists of the Early Renaissance period. His paintings are characterized by serene humanism and use of geometric forms, particularly in relation to perspective. Francesca had many things that inspired him however the rounded figures were inspired from Masaccio, and from Domenico he was inspired to use delicate cool colors and scenes drenched in crisp, clear daylight. To these influences he added an innate sense of order and clarity. Within his work there are always large areas light or that of white in his works; the skies are big, light and sunny.

            The Baptism of Christ is an egg tempera painting which was painted upon a piece of poplar wood.  This painting dates to the 1450’s, it was Francesca’s first important commission during this period; originally it was painted for the Chapel of San Giovanni.  Most of Piero's works include altarpieces and church frescoes which were religious in nature.  He always presented scenes of amazing beauty, serene figures fixed in clear, finely detailed space.     

Several things within this particular piece stood out to me; however the most striking is that of the light source.  The light cast from above creates amazing soft colors and shadows, both of which enhance the dimensionality of this piece. Other things that stood out to me were the placement of Christ and the baptism bowl.  They are both placed near center of the painting which suggests their great importance. In the distance, between the tree and Christ, Piero's home town of Sansopolcro can be seen.  Foreshortening is also present within this piece; the dove is a great example of this. I like how the dove is painted to be flying over and looking down at Christ. I also enjoyed how part of the dove is overlapping in front of the foliage on the tree, and then partly in front of the sky.  The overlapping brings the dove up front into the foreground, this gives the illusion that it is hovering over Christ’s head. The horizontal pattern of the clouds integrates the dove nicely into the skyline. The dove is placed within this piece to symbolize the Holy Spirit.  This piece has a sense of great depth, from the rolling hills, to the gradual decrease in size of the trees which fade into the background.   This piece seems to open up as you look at it, from up close and personal to wide open spaces. 

There are several different lines which all point to the center of the piece which is occupied by Christ; for example two of the three angels are looking at Christ. There are several different lines within this piece which depict upright, strong forms. An example of this is Christ’s torso and legs and the tree which he stands next to.  They are the same color and posed in an upright forward position.  Johns left leg is bent toward Christ, and the person standing to the right, just behind John is bent over towards Christ as well.  While standing in a very shallow creek Christ is baptized by John. I really like how the images of the sky and the tree are depicted in the smooth glass like reflection of the creek.

Although this is suppose to be a specific religious event which took place in time, there is something about it that intrigues me in a non religious way. Everything seems to be frozen in time, yet there is movement, because my eye continues to move around the page picking up details it missed from the first glance.  The framing of the painting might have something to do with this; the intentional circular top with the square shaped bottom is quite interesting.  There is so much to take in and look at, yet this piece is very simplistic in the way it presents this historical event.