Scene of a Baptism of a Woman by a Bishop with Onlookers
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash (small accidental stains of white gouache on lower left), over red chalk, on light brown paper; surface of paper rubbed extensively with black charcoal or chalk dust; framing outlines in the shape of a lunette in pen and dark brown ink by the artist
Dimensions
7-3/4 x 10-3/4 in. (19.7 x 27.3 cm). Arched top.
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880
Accession Number
80.3.496
Tags
Art Historical Context
This evocative 17th-century drawing created by an anonymous Italian artist from the Roman-Bnese school, depicts a solemn baptismal scene: a bishop administers the sacrament to a woman while attentive onlookers witness the rite. The arched top, outlined by the artist in pen and dark brown ink suggests it was conceived for a lunette—a curved architectural frame, perhaps above a doorway in a or chapel. Housed the Metropolitan Museum of Art Department of Drawings and Prints, entered the collection as a gift from Cornelius in 1880, offering a window into Baroque-era religious devotion during Italy'...