Plate 41: Saint John the Baptist preaching to a large crowd and baptizing children 1756

Bartolomeo Crivellari created this print of Saint John the Baptist preaching to a crowd, sometime in the 1700s. The image speaks to the complex and changing role of the church during the Enlightenment. We see John the Baptist in the lower right, captured in the act of baptizing. Above him, in a swirl of clouds and bodies, is a muscular figure being cast out of heaven. This striking image asks us to consider the relationship between earthly and divine power. It suggests a world where religious dogma is being questioned and challenged by new ideas about reason and the natural world. To understand this artwork better, we might research the history of the Catholic Church in the 18th century. Who were the key figures? What were the major theological and political debates? How did artists respond to these changes? Considering this plate in the context of the Enlightenment, makes it clear that art making is closely tied to cultural change.