The Baptism of Christ

The Baptism of Christ

Title

The Baptism of Christ

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Analysis of wood sp. by Peter Klein, 1993]
[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2016]

Christ stands together with St John the Baptist, who fills a jug with water, in the river Jordan. In the background there is a herd of deer in a wood at the left and a townscape at the right. In the sky over the landscape God sends the Holy Spirit

Christ stands together with St John the Baptist, who fills a jug with water, in the river Jordan. In the background there is a herd of deer in a wood at the left and a townscape at the right. In the sky over the landscape God sends the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove down to earth.

[Görres, cda 2016]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Production date
about 1546

Production date

about 1546

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 15 x 20.5 cm (5 7/8 x 8 1/16 inches)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 15 x 20.5 cm (5 7/8 x 8 1/16 inches)

  • Dimensions including frame: 24.44 x 29.21 x 5.08 cm (9 9/16 x 11 1/2 x 2 inches)

  • [The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Inscriptions and Labels
  • at top centre:
    'HIC EST FILIVS MEVS DILECTVS IN QVO/MICHI BEN COMPLACITVM EST.'
    [The Cleveland Museum of Art, …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • at top centre:
  • 'HIC EST FILIVS MEVS DILECTVS IN QVO/MICHI BEN COMPLACITVM EST.'

  • [The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - top left:

  • in red paint: '53.143'

    • centre:
  • in white chalk: '537'

  • [The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Owner
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Repository
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Location
Cleveland
CDA ID
US_CMA_1953-143
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_CMA_1953-143/

Provenance

  • Gift of Mrs. Charles E. Roseman in memory of Charles E. Roseman, Jr.
    [The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Waterman 2015 284, Fn. 16
AuthorJoshua P. Waterman
TitleThe Artistic Emergence of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages280-289
Klein 1994 A 197
AuthorPeter Klein
TitleLucas Cranach und seine Werkstatt. Holzarten und dendrochronologische Analyse
Publicationin Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff, eds.,Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken, Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication1994
Pages194-200
Cat. Cleveland 1982 165-166 67 Fig. p. 166
EditorSherman Emery Lee
TitleEuropean Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Catalogue of Paintings
Place of PublicationCleveland
Year of Publication1982
Coe 1955 222 No. 7 pl. XLV
AuthorNancy Coe
TitleCleveland Private Collections. Catalogue of European Paintings and Drawings in Cleveland Private Collections [M.A. thesis, Department of Fine Arts, Oberlin College]
Volume1, 2
Year of Publication1955
CMA 1954 68
Authorn. a.
JournalThe Art Quarterly
IssueSpring, 1954
Year of Publication1954
  • The Baptism of Christ, about 1546

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • x_radiograph

Technical studies

2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • X-radiography
  • UV-light photography
  • Stereomicroscopy

Support

Oak. Prominent rays of grain run vertical to composition. Single piece of wood with bevels on reverse that are hand cut. The bevels measure from .5-1 cm. Small ridge of wood from original panel is seen at the top central area. The largest ridge measures .4 H and 1.2 cm W. A piece of this is missing A .3 cm piece of this is missing from the left side when seen from the verso. Adjacent to this lip are old residues of glue. This lip is carved from the same wood which forms the support and may have been part of the original mounting or framing. The reverse was coated with a thin layer of black paint or stain. The panel has a slight convex warp. It appears to be the original size.

Ground and Imprimatura

Single white ground layer. Medium and pigment not tested, but estimated to be chalk. The layer is thin and smooth and extends nearly to the edge, or to the edge on all sides. There is no burr or incision. No imprimatura is visible.

Underdrawing

Some preliminary underdrawing done in black medium-not analyzed. Lines appear to be drawn with black pen. Only a few are seen in IR around the contours of the arms. No apparent major compositional changes.

Paint Layers and Gilding

No underpaint. Sky first followed by background architecture, then trees. Thin foreground tree trunks laid in with thin gray/brown and brown layer, followed by shadows and white highlights. In the left, these trunks are painted after the stags were painted in. The area of the red robe and the area of the pinkish robe behind Christ were left in reserve and painted over the ground layer. The water was painted before the foreground greenery and figures of St. John and Christ were added, although the blue of the water does not extend far under the perimeter of the legs. Blue shadows were put in the figures first, followed by lighter flesh tones and features. Final dilute brown outlining of fingers done last. White highlights in the water and hair of St. John’s coat are on top of all other paint. The figure of God in the sky was handled similarly to the two foreground figures, directly on the ground layer, fleshtones of blue and pink laid in with thin dilute brown shadows. These were followed by the black eyes and nostril and final white of beard and hair. Thin strands of yellow paint emanating from his head are over the hair. No gilding evident.

Framing

New frame. Distressed gesso with burled wood on flat plane. 24.7 x 29.4 cm. Oak (est.) with mitred corners.

[Marcia Steele, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014]

2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • photographed by The Cleveland Museum of Art

1993Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Dendrochronology done by Peter Klein in 1993 shows earliest felling date 1544. Under the assumption of a minimum of a 2 years storage time a creation is plausible from 1546 upwards.

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2016]

  • examined by Peter Klein

1992Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography
  • x_radiograph

Digital photo taken 2014of X-ray film.

Originally X-ray done August 27, 1992, 30 KV, 3MA, one minute exposure

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

  • created by The Cleveland Museum of Art

Conservation History

Date2015

Varnish and retouches removed by Marcia Steele. Aldehyde resin varnish applies and retouches done also in Aldehyde resin.

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2016]

  • conservation treatment by Marcia Steele

Date1993

By 1993, this [the Ketone varnish] had discoloured and was removed by Kenneth Be. Retouching was carried out in PVA AYAB and dammar with ultraviolet light stabilizer was applied.

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

Date01. 1960

January 1960 Joe Alvarez removed yellow varnish with acetone. Stated the painting was in excellent condition. Varnish and previous oil retouches along the lower edge were removed. Small area at extreme right center at foot of steps was missing. Retouched right edge and minor areas in sky. Estimated varnish Ketone N.

[The Cleveland Museum of Art, revised 2014]

  • conservation treatment by Joe Alvarez

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Baptism of Christ', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_CMA_1953-143/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Baptism of Christ', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_CMA_1953-143/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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