# The Baptism of Christ

- By: Lucas Cranach (German, 1472–1553)
- Date: 1530s
- Medium: oil on wood
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Framed: 24.4 x 29.2 x 5.1 cm (9 5/8 x 11 1/2 x 2 in.); Unframed: 15 x 20.5 cm (5 7/8 x 8 1/16 in.)
- Culture: Germany
- Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Charles E. Roseman in memory of Charles E. Roseman Jr.
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.143)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.143/1953.143_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Painted in minute detail, Cranach’s majestic scene includes elements characteristic of landscapes in 16th-century German art: verdant forest, hilltop city, and distant mountains. A close associate of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, Cranach adapted Christian imagery to reflect Luther’s belief that religious art must narrate scripture. The Gospels describe Christ’s baptism with the heavens opening, a dove descending, and a voice saying, “Here is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased,” which Cranach painted in Latin directly onto the clouds.