The Babtism of Christ
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Piero della Francesca’s ‘Baptism Of Christ’
Danielle White
Sources
Information
•Painted in the 1450s. Medium of Egg tempera on poplar
•Size is 167 x 116 cm.
•This panel was the central section of a polyptych.
•Polyptych- A work consisting of four or more painted or carved
panels that are hinged together.
•This painting depicts the story of Christs baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
•Christ is portrayed as a rough Tuscan farmer. Another man un-dresses, ready for his turn and three angels indicate the importance of the event by their glances.
•Light in Tuscany in summer is strong and color appears bleached and shadowless giving a translucent effect to pale colors like white.
•One of the angels has the brighter colors than anything else on the painting. Her wings are more detailed as well.
•Uses arial perspective, gets bluer in the background. Also shows depth by painting the river winding and getting smaller in the distance. He really tried to depict depth accurately. The trees are smaller in the distance as well.
•Piero constructs figure in the basis of geometric forms, i.e. the architectonic approach. The humans in the painting reveal the geometric shapes, volume in sphere, oval, cylinder or ellipses.
•Side panels and a predella were