Artwork
Baptism
Baptism is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist William P. Chappel. It dates from 1874 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. William P.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Chappel in a modest, intimate format, the work emphasizes personal devotion and the quiet immediacy of the ceremony.
The 1874 oil on slate paper titled Baptism, housed in The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, portrays a baptism on a river: a man in a small boat is accompanied by a woman. Water functions symbolically as a sign of the spiritual cleansing and renewal central to the rite, while the boat serves as a vessel carrying the participants across the flow of the river. Rendered by William P. Chappel in a modest, intimate format, the work emphasizes personal devotion and the quiet immediacy of the ceremony.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1874, William P. Chappel's Baptism is an oil painting applied directly onto a slate paper support. This choice of medium and substrate distinguishes the work within the artist's oeuvre and the broader context of American religious genre painting. The composition depicts a riverside scene featuring a boat and figures, including a man and a woman, rendered in a style consistent with mid-nineteenth-century narrative traditions.
The physical object measures 15.6 cm in height by 23.5 cm in width. Currently held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, the work's small scale suggests it was intended for intimate viewing rather than large public display.
History & Provenance
The painting Baptism was created in 1874 by the artist William P. Chappel. Executed in oil on slate paper, the work measures 15.6 by 23.5 centimeters. While specific details regarding its original commission or a chronological chain of previous owners are not provided in the available records, the artwork is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically within its American Wing. The piece depicts a religious scene featuring figures on a river with a boat.
Context
Scholarship situates William P. Chappel's 1874 oil on slate paper, Baptism, within the corpus of 19th-century American religious art, noting its inclusion in The American Wing and its classification as a religious genre work. Contemporary critical response is sparsely documented, but later analyses treat the painting as an example of Chappel's engagement with biblical narrative and everyday life, emphasizing the depiction of a boat, man, woman and river as symbolic elements. The work's provenance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art underscores its role in shaping the museum's presentation of American religious subjects.
Its formal qualities and subject matter contribute to discussions of genre painting in the United States during the 1870s.
Overview
William P. Chappel's Baptism, created around 1874, is an oil painting on slate paper. This work, part of the American Wing collection, depicts a religious ceremony by a river. It offers a quiet glimpse into a communal ritual, reflecting aspects of daily life and spiritual practice in 19th-century America through its understated portrayal of the event.
Artist & collection
- Bathing Party
Infant Funeral Procession
The Expedition Leaving Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario. November 18, 1678
The Fish Market on the Beach, Hastings
St. John's Eve. Farmers who have awakened from sleep on a mound, dance around the fire
H.M.S. Victory off N. Africa
Sunset at the lake
Το λιμάνι της Πάτρας
Entrance to a Harbour
Adult Funeral Procession
Old Ferry Stairs
Landing at Newfoundland