Baptism of Christ
| Support Type: | Wall / Plaster |
| Paint Type: | Fresco |
| Current Location: | Scrovegni Chapel, Padova/Italy |
| Location History: | Giotto\'s masterpiece is the decoration of Padua\'s Scrovegni Chapel, often called the Arena Chapel, which was finished circa 1305. The life of Christ and the life of the Virgin are portrayed in the fresco cycle. It is recognized as one of the Early Renaissance\'s greatest works of art. The Arena Chapel, commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, was built as a private oratory and funerary monument. It had a total of 38 narrative scenes. The fresco cycle is one of the largest ensembles surviving from the late Duecento / early Trecento. Enrico Scrovegni was the son of Rainaldo Scrovegni, a rich moneylender who was not from a noble family. Rainaldo tried to improve his social status, even by using a family coat of arms, but moneylenders were still looked down on by society and the Church. Church law said that usurers had to give back their profits or donate them to the poor. For a long time, people believed that Enrico built the Scrovegni Chapel to make up for his father’s sins. |
Giotto was an Italian painter and architect in the Late Medieval Ages. He was one of the most important figures of his time, symbolising the transition from the late Middle Ages to the early Renaissance with his style of painting. Here, we see a fresco from the cycle of Christ’s life: the baptism. The background is the classic and iconic style that Giotto uses: a clear blue sky and rocky landscape. The rocks highlight the presence of Christ in the middle, getting baptised by St. John. However, the perspective is unnatural, considering that we see the figures surrounding Jesus full-length and the rocky landscape they’re standing on. However, we also see Christ full-length, dipped in the water, a perspective that we can not observe in real life. Above, we see God approaching him from heaven and says: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Gospel of Matthew 3:17:). Another feature that I’d like to mention is how Giotto added ‘unholy’ figures in most of the frescoes in Scrovegni. Historians argue that this approach lends a sense of realism to the events unfolding by incorporating a witness from the general public and thereby reinforcing the notion that these are ‘real’ stories, not just events witnessed by holy figures, but also by ordinary people like himself and ourselves.
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