For an image of the Baptism of Christ, this painting is remarkably somber, even bleak. The color scheme of almost entirely browns and greys is a major factor in this, and so is focus of the lighting. It comes in four distinct rays from the sky, brightly illuminating Jesus Christ and St. John, but leaving every other figure in the dark, as the disk of light on the ground ends sharply.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gelder,_Aert_de_-_The_Baptism_of_Christ_-_c._1710.jpg
This picture is a very interesting way of looking at the world pre-christ, a world where man was not guaranteed heaven and this lighting choice shows the darkness of that world and light Christ would eventually bring to the world.
ReplyDeleteI like how the light rays are able to illuminate Christ. It is fascinating how the almost invisible rays are able to cast such a bright light on Jesus Christ. Additionally, most of the other unlit figures seem to blend into the dark brown ground.
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