Il Battesimo di Cristo, 1544 ca - Loreto
The Baptism of Christ, 1544
Museo Pontificio Santa Casa, Loreto

In the Loreto installation conceptual system, the Baptism of Christ is the central moment, the confirmation of a new covenant between God and mankind, through a sacramental act of which Christ is both the founder and the recipient, by virtue of his dual human and divine nature. The scene takes place in a large river landscape, still and silent, on which stands the white figure of Christ, who in addition to receiving the baptism by John can also be seen offering the shaft dominated by the cross reference to his ultimate destiny. On the right side two characters emerge, usually identified with two angels. Tiny figures of people can be glimpsed in the waves of the Jordan River, with slow and majestic bends.