The Baptism of Christ

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]