Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3: 13-17
Set against this dramatic, fantastical landscape, Jesus humbly is baptized by John. His pale, vulnerable body contrasts with the dark, almost threatening surroundings, and visually connects to the small yellow-lighted break-in-the-clouds window into heaven, where God the Father, depicted as an old man, sends the dove of the Holy Spirit down and declares his pleasure in his Son. What a rich moment!
John has been in the wilderness for years preaching repentance, baptizing, denouncing the wickedness of the Jewish rulers, and preparing a pathway for the Messiah to enter the scene. In the background of the painting, John is seen preaching to some followers. John is wearing his signature camel hair while the others are dressed in hybrid Biblical and contemporary clothing (for Renaissance Belgium) and are a mixed bunch of old, young, men, women with babies, poor and wealthy. It seems he is addressing a frowning fancily-dressed man in the back of the crowd and several other people have also turned to look at him. Perhaps he is in the middle of some denouncing. A bit farther back, dressed in blue, Jesus stands watching; He is about to ask John to baptize Him. One man in the crowd (perhaps a self portrait of the artist?) leans and looks toward the next part of the story, the foreground image of John gently and reverently baptizing Jesus, his blue cloak laying beside Him, hands clasped in humility and obedience to whatever His Father wants Him to do to “fulfill all righteousness.” John, of course, balked at this at first asking how could he baptize Him? But as always, Jesus is ready and willing to do whatever the Father asks, no matter how strange it seems from the outside and no matter how low He needs to stoop. This is how Jesus lived his whole life after this moment, as we can see recorded in the scriptures, and how He lived His life from birth up until this moment which we know because the Father declares how pleased he already is with Him!
While Jesus is the focal point, the landscape surrounding Him really becomes a “main character” in the painting. Pintir was known as a landscape painter and arguably the first landscape painter in western art. He invented this particular type of landscape that influenced all Renaissance landscapes after it. Called a “world landscape,” it is based on reality (his home was near dramatic cliffs like these) and with a great sense of atmospheric perspective (the shift in value and color change from foreground to background and creates a believable sense of depth). But it has a very unrealistic large view; there is too much landscape to take in, as if he is trying to cram every possible landscape element into one painting. The viewpoint is slightly above, as if the viewer is down on the scene, which doesn’t always match the perspective of the figures. This type of landscape was very attractive for the wealthy patrons who bought these types of paintings, because of how grandiose they were. It is not necessarily real to the events of scripture, but something about the grandness does carry the true weight of this moment and creates a sense of timeless and space-less significance. The fulfillment of prophecy, Christ’s complete obedience, the Father’s approval, the Holy Spirit… these are the things that made Jesus the perfect Lamb that could, and would, effectively take the punishment for sin and save the world.
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