The Baptism of Christ

El Greco painted this version of the Baptism of Christ around 1600, during his years in Toledo. The canvas is tall and narrow, over twice as high as it is wide, made for a side chapel where it would be seen from below. Christ stands in the Jordan River at the center, his body pale against the dark water. John the Baptist leans from the right bank, pouring water over Christ's head. Above them, God the Father appears in a burst of light, surrounded by angels. The sky is split between dark clouds and a bright opening at the top. The figures are elongated, the colors sharp: blues, greens, yellows, and reds that seem to glow from within. The canvas is roughly 42 by 98 inches, a vertical format. El Greco was born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Crete in 1541. He trained as an icon painter, studied in Venice under Titian, and settled in Toledo in 1577. By 1600 he was producing the tall, narrow altarpieces that define his late style. He painted the Baptism of Christ at least three times. This version is in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. Spanish painting at the turn of the 17th century was shaped by the Counter-Reformation, which demanded emotional, direct religious art. El Greco's style was too personal to fit any school. His elongated figures, acidic colors, and swirling compositions came from his Byzantine training filtered through Venetian color and his own restless invention. Oil on canvas, approximately 107 by 249 centimeters. El Greco painted with long, fluid strokes, building his figures in rapid layers. The colors are thin in places, allowing the dark ground to show through. The light does not come from a single source; it seems to come from the figures themselves. The extreme vertical format of this painting makes it suited to a narrow wall, a stairwell, or a space between two windows. The 18x24 print preserves the vertical proportions. The cool blues and warm yellows pair with white walls and simple furniture. The painting is in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome, part of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.