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The Baptism of Christ

Icon
16th or 17th century (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tempera painting

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Baptism of Christ
Materials and techniques
Tempera on panel
Brief description
Icon, 'The Baptism of Christ', Greek School, 16th or 17th century
Physical description
Tempera painting
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 15in
  • Approx. width: 11.375in
  • Frame height: 422mm
  • Frame width: 336mm
  • Frame depth: 70mm
Dimensions taken from departmental object file
Style
Object history
Purchased, 1927

Bought for £10. Received from J. Stuart Hay Esq, 9 Chester Place, W.2., and Leonard Bower (British Ligation, Athens).

This icon is one of four panels which were purchased from Stuart Hay and Leonard Bower for £10 each in 1927, a price described by museum staff as very competitive. The transactions are well recorded in the Registered Papers of the V&A and are interesting because of the great deal of information regarding the place of origin of the icons. The panels are known to have come from the town of Gumulgina in Macedonia, (present day Komotini in Northern Greece), and while they are often described as a set, they were purchased in two separate transactions. The first transaction consisted of three icons (The Presentation in the Temple W.4-1927, The Entry into Jerusalem W.5-1927, and The Anastasis W.6-1927) which appeared to have come from the festival tier of an iconostasis since they are of identical size and represent three of the twelve great feasts of the orthodox liturgical year, while the second transaction included a single panel (The Baptism of Christ W.13-1927) described as coming from the same set as the first three icons, but which is of slightly larger proportions and of different style. This icon was criticised in a letter from the director of the V&A in 1927, Eric Maclagan, to the vendors as having been more conserved than he would have wanted. The reply from Hay and Bower implied that this had been done by a Greek conservator without their consent. Maclagan then refused a further panel which was offered depicting the Transfiguration, presumably because he was disappointed with the quality of the Baptism icon.

Tests have been done to ascertain the chemical structure of the gesso used as the base layer for these icons with interesting results. Two of the three icons previously purchased from Gumulgina were tested and were found to have gesso grounds comprised of multiple layers, which was different than the thick, single layer grounds in the other three icons tested, which were from the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. The icon depicting the Baptism of Christ was not tested, but an analysis of this panel would be important in order to see whether it has a single gesso layer or multiple layers.

N.B. An article by J. Stuart Hay and Leonard Bower, "Greek Icon Painting", was published in The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 51, No.292 (July 1927), pages 8-14.

Historical significance: The Baptism of Christ is one of the dodekaorton, or great feasts of the orthodox liturgical year. Here we see Christ standing in the centre of the image in a loincloth, and surrounded by the swirling waters of the river Jordan which are filled with fish. The fish have sharp teeth and wait to consume Christ as Christians do when they consume the sacrament during the liturgy. The vertical axis of the image displays the sanctity of the moment by connecting Christ to heaven through the Holy Spirit in its orange mandorla. The horizontal axis shows the John the baptiser himself as well as the four archangels as witnesses with their hands covered. John is clad in a robe which covers a hair shirt, and has wild hair. With his right hand he touches the head of Christ signifying the baptism itself. Below John is a tree with an axe lying against its trunk. This iconographic detail is often associated with John and refers to Matthew 3:10, "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." This is a warning that baptism is not simply an action or performance, but a sacrament. Those who undergo baptism without good intention will not be saved.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
W.13-1927

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Record createdMay 21, 2007
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