The Baptism of Christ

Dated to 1492, this panel by the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altar has an uncertain commission history. While a note on the reverse suggests an origin in a church in Arnhem, possibly the high altar of the Sint Janskerk commissioned by Johan van Hatstein between 1486 and 1497, definitive evidence is lacking. The first documented appearance is the 1905 Paris sale of Count Jacques de Bryas's collection.

It then passed through Galerie F. Kleinberger before entering the Berlin collection of Richard von Kaufmann. Following Kaufmann's death, the work was sold at auction in December 1917, possibly acquired by Paul Graupe for Otto Henkell of Wiesbaden. Later handled by Rosenberg & Stiebel in New York, it was purchased by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in February 1955 and gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1961, where it remains as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection.

The Baptism of Christ, painted around 1492 by the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altar, remains poorly documented regarding its original commission and location; a note on the panel's reverse traditionally associates it with a church in Arnhem, and Eisler (1977) suggested it may have been intended for the high altar of the Sint Janskerk there, possibly commissioned by Johan van Hatstein. The first archival reference linking the work to Arnhem appears in a 1905 sale catalogue. As part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection, the panel now resides in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., positioning it within early Netherlandish religious painting and the broader oeuvre of the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece.

Titled "The Baptism of Christ," this oil on panel painting illustrates a significant event from the New Testament. It depicts Jesus Christ receiving baptism from John the Baptist, a moment foundational to Christian belief. The artwork's composition prioritizes the two main figures, presenting the sacred narrative with a direct and focused approach.