Guido Reni | um 1622/1623
John is preaching at the Jordan River, baptising, and proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. When Jesus himself steps into the river to accept baptism from John with angels holding the garments he has taken off, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove. The sky opens, and God's voice is heard: "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Realism and idealisation, worldly and heavenly things imbue one another in this solemn scene with its balanced composition, taking the art of Raphael as its model.