[There is a good reason you see these two paintings everytime the topic is Jesus' baptism by John: there aren't any other good ones. Most show John pouring water on Jesus's head from a sea shell. Where would he have gotten a sea shell in the Judean Desert? Why go all the way into the Jordan River if all you need to do is pour a quarter cup of water on his head?]
[This painting by Bruegel is affectionately known as "When John visited the Netherlands.]
In the December 1972 issue of the Ensign (that was the month I first went to the temple: I got married in January of 73), there is a long and excellent article about John the Baptist, written by Robert J Matthews.
Highly recommended reading.
Here is Tissot's version: where is the river?
And finally, another good one I found: JKRichards
When John visited the Netherlands? Is this wishful thinking or some documentation behind it. Being in a Dutch family, this is interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteNo, John did not visit the Netherlands. It is just a silly name noting the tendency for European artists to paint Biblical events as if they had occurred in Europe. No real sense of the change in time or place over 1000 years.
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