Baptism and Temptations of Christ

Veronese (Paolo Caliari)

Download hi-res image TITLE Baptism and Temptations of Christ
AUTHOR Veronese (Paolo Caliari)
DATE c. 1582
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 248 x 450
INVENTORY 136
ROOM IX
Work on display

This painting, once part of a large decorative cycle, depicts two rarely associated episodes from the Gospels, linking them visually with a series of diagonal lines stretching from the angel upper left and guiding the observer’s eye towards the right-hand side of the composition, where Devil seeks to tempt Christ in the wilderness. The painter’s true protagonist is the landscape in the centre, with its magnificent light effects achieved with rapid brushstrokes fading towards Jerusalem in the distance.

Labels by famous authors

“Preparation and test. The one fleshy and apocalyptic, the other gloomily psychological. The Baptist splashes Jesus in the river and the heavens open, spilling brightly-dressed angels and a tubby cherub with silken parachute. All eyes on Christ and His on the dazzling Dove. Fast-forward forty days in the wilderness and, to the right, the Devil tempts Christ with Worldly Power. But his pink and blue robes are still picking up just enough light from that Baptism to say, Get thee hence, Satan! ”
Tim Parks