The Baptism of Christ (with Saint John, Without his Cross, in Profile to the Right)
ca. 1770–90
Medium
Pen and brown ink, gray wash
Dimensions
8 5/8 x 5 3/4 in. (21.9 x 14.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.477
Tags
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, gifted son of the Venetian master Giambattista Tiep, created this captivating drawing around 1770–90, capturing the sacred moment of Christ's Baptism by Saint John the Baptist. Rendered in pen and brown ink with gray wash, the work depicts a distinctive composition: Saint John appears in profile facing right, notably without his traditional cross attribute. This intimate study evokes biblical scene from the Jordan, a cornerstone of Christian iconography symbolizing purification and divine revelation, where the Holy Spirit descends as a dove and God's voice affirms Je...
About the Artist
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo · 1727–1804
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) was a Venetian painter, printmaker, and draftsman whose career spanned the twilight of the Rococo era. Born on August 30, 1727, in Venice as the eldest son of the celebrated Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, he worked both in his father's shadow and as a significant independent artist who developed a distinctly earthbound and humanistic vision. Domenico's importance...