4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2010.

The Baptism of the Eunuch

Artist Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673)

Dateca. 1660

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions79 x 48 in. (200.7 x 121.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 93 1/8 x 62 1/4 x 3 1/2 in. (236.5 x 158.1 x 8.9 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.525

Terms

Baptism
Saint Philip
Landscape
People
Christianity
Religion
Blue
White
Pink
Brown
Tan
Gray
Baroque
Rome

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. In the painting Philip, clothed in white and pointing upward, baptizes the kneeling eunuch, whose companions respond with confusion and surprise. The scene unfolds in a barren, rock-bound landscape, a gloomy and fobidding setting typical of Rosa. Characteristic, too, of Rosa's restive, proto-Romantic art is the galvanic mood of 'storm and stress' that courses through the scene and manifests itself particularly in the Ethiopians' theatrical gestures, wide-eyed expressions and exotic costumes.

Label TextSalvator Rosa Italian, 1615–1673 The Baptism of the Eunuch, ca. 1660 Oil on canvas Baroque artists infused high drama into even minor Bible stories. In this scene, the evangelist Philip is converting an Ethiopian official whom he met while travelling to Gaza (Acts 8:26–39). Amid raised arms and glinting light, Philip baptizes the Ethiopian, who bows humbly at his feet. Many viewers would have seen the convert’s turban and golden cloak as exotic—features that emphasized the Catholic Church’s new enthusiasm for proselytizing to the entire world. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.525