Description
The Baptism of Christ is a famous painting by Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci's teacher. Verrocchio completed the painting in 1472 with the help of da Vinci, who finished some parts of the altarpiece.
On the banks of the Jordan River in Israel, Jesus is being baptized by Saint John, who wets Christ's head with water. Saint John the Baptist holds a thin cross and a scroll with the announcement of the coming of the Savior inscribed: ECCE AGNUS DEI [QUI TOLLIT PECCATA MUNDI] ("Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Gospel according to John 1, 29 ). Also present at the event are two kneeling angels, one of whom is holding Jesus' clothing.
In the middle of the 16th century, the historian Giorgio Vasari narrates that for the execution of the painting, Andrea del Verrocchio was helped by a young student, Leonardo, who painted the figure of the angel on the left with such skill that he upset the elder. Verrocchio. Current studies are oriented to consider more extensive the interventions of Leonardo Da Vinci , including the charming riverside landscape, the golden light and the figure of Christ. It was usual, in fifteenth-century artists' studios, for the head of the studio to design the piece, leaving the secondary parts to be painted by students and collaborators. It is probable that in the panel with the Baptism of Christ, in addition to Verrocchio and Leonardo, another older painter also worked on the piece. This is suggested by the less developed nature of some details, such as the hands of God and the dove of the Holy Spirit, above. Da Vinci's angel stands out for the articulated pose of his body, where it is possible to see the shoulders and the young face, as if turning, together with the natural draping of the celestial tunic.
The panel comes from the church of the Vallombrosan monastery of San Salvi in Florence. In 1730 it was transferred to another Vallombrosan monastery in Florence, Santa Verdiana, and from there it was incorporated into the Florentine Galleries in 1810. In the Uffizi since 1919.