| The Baptism of Christ | |
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| Artist | Andrea del Verrocchio & Leonardo da Vinci |
| Year | 1472-1475 |
| Medium | Oil on wood |
| Location | Uffizi, Florence |
| Dimensions | 70 in × 59 in |
| 177 cm × 151 cm | |
| Famous Paintings by da Vinci | |
| The Last Supper | |
| Mona Lisa | |
| Vitruvian Man | |
| The Baptism of Christ | |
| Annunciation | |
| Lady with an Ermine | |
| Ginevra de’ Benci | |
| Adoration of the Magi | |
| St. Jerome in the Wilderness | |
| View Complete Works |
The Baptism of Christ is a famous painting made by da Vinci’s master, Andrea del Verrochio at circa 1472 in his studio in Italy. The painting was completed by Verrochio in collaboration with his apprentice, da Vinci who painted and finished the details of some parts of the painting, particularly the angel. The painting was an altarpiece commissioned by the monks of the San Salvi Church near Florence.
The painting of The Baptism of Christ was mainly done by Verrochio using tempera on wood. The painting depicts St. John the Baptist during the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ as according to the Gospels of Luke, Mark and Matthew. Two angels on the left side of the painting complete the four figures in the artwork. The scene illustrated by the painting includes God’s extended arms painted with golden rays and dove with its wings widely spread, a halo with cruciform is painted on top of Jesus’ head and another halo on top of St. John the Baptist. The two angels are holding Jesus’ clothes. The angel on the left side is the part done by Leonardo da Vinci. He used oil, which was at that time a new medium in painting.
Verrochio was an artist whose artistic talents were shown in his paintings, metalwork and sculptures. He was running his own workshop along with his apprentices who turned out also to be great artists of the Renaissance era along with da Vinci. His apprentices, aside from Leonardo da Vinci, were Botticini, Botticelli, and Lorenzo de Credi. According to history, The Baptism of Christ is the last painting by Verrochio who then focused his artistic gift on sculptures and metalwork. It is from this fact that gossips were passed saying that Verrochio was so ashamed of himself because Leonardo’s painting of the angel was superior to his. He said that a boy’s understanding of colors was far superior to his and swore to never touch color again.