The Baptism of Christ 

Nicolas Poussin painted The Baptism of Christ in the mid-seventeenth century, likely in Rome. In this period, the Catholic Church was reasserting itself after challenges from the Protestant Reformation, and Poussin’s classical style, which he used to convey traditional religious narratives, aligned with the Church’s renewed emphasis on order and authority. The scene shows John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan, watched by onlookers. Poussin gives us an idealised version of this event, showing the classical influence of the Renaissance and the desire to convey the divine but also adhere to established artistic norms. The divine presence is represented by the dove hovering above Jesus, which the artist uses to show the Holy Spirit. To understand this work better, we can look to the history of the Catholic Church and its patronage of the arts, as well as Poussin’s other works, to appreciate how historical and institutional contexts influence artistic creation.