The Baptism of Christ / Sketches of angels and their features
1667. Blue wash, Pencil, Black ink on laid paper.Not on display
Jesus, half-kneeling on a stone, awaits his baptism. Saint John bends down to collect water from the river Jordan. Two angels hold Jesus’s garments behind him. Meanwhile, other angels on the right are represented in dialogue. God the Father is in the sky alongside the Holy Spirit and some angels. In the background, there is a landscape with a bridge and bathers.
The figure of Saint John the Baptist draws inspiration from a classical print by Azzolino. The entire composition is very characteristic of the Madrid style at the time, which evokes techniques established by Escalante and even by Rizzi in the types of angels.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Catálogo de Dibujos. Vol. I. Dibujos españoles siglos XV-XVII, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1972, p.122-123
