The baptism of Christ by John the Baptist

The image on the left is the original 15th century panel of the baptism of Jesus, the image on the right is my reconstruction.

The central panel is the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan river by John the Baptist[1]. This was the only interaction between John and Jesus in the bible, and has very important connotations for Jesus’s approval of John’s work[2]. Part of John’s preaching in the wilderness was the coming of Jesus[3], and after the baptism Jesus spoke highly of John. The symbolism of Jesus being baptized is very potent because he is the son of God being baptized by a mortal human[4]. Unlike the 15^th century panel where the actual baptism gets lost in the complexity of the piece, my reconstruction simplified the subject matter. Part of the Bible story is the opening of the heavens and the descent of the dove, representing the holy spirit. I wanted to make the dove a focal point of the piece to highlight the holiness of the act. I attempted to represent Jesus’s humility in the glass by his hands clasped in prayer and his submission to the baptism. Because Jesus is a perfect, heavenly being, his baptism represents the importance of repentance and devotion to God, as well as his connection with sinners. To medieval Christians, the message of Jesus’s acceptance and the importance of baptism would have been a clear reminder of the holy sacrament.