CIMA da Conegliano
(b. ca. 1459, Conegliano, d. 1517/18, Conegliano)

Baptism of Christ

1493-94
Oil on panel, 350 x 210 cm
San Giovanni in Bragora, Venice

This painting is considered Cima's masterpiece and provided a model for Giovanni Bellini's painting, some years later, of the same subject for the church of Santa Corona in Vicenza. It was this painting that made Cima's reputation among painters and the general public in Venice.

In the background, groups of easterners appear to be making their way to the City of God on horseback or on foot. John waits in readiness on the plain.