The Baptism of Christ

Christ stands in the river Jordan while John the Baptist pours water over his head, watched by angels bearing his garments above a spray of olive branches. Sebastiano Ricci was the Venetian painter who, at the turn of the eighteenth century, rekindled the brilliance of Veronese and opened the way for Tiepolo — this luminous sketch combines his airy colour with a calm, reverent mood.