Baptism of Christ (1400s): Art, History and Details

Baptism of Christ (1400s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Niello prints are hybrid works; they are neither metalworks nor straightforward engravings. Made from niello plaques, they probably functioned to document a goldsmith’s work. The prints are two steps removed from the engraved metal plate. The artist first made a clay mold from the engraved plate, then a second sulfur mold from the clay. Damp paper was pressed onto the blackened sulfur with a goldsmith’s hand roller. This print is somewhat mysterious. Printed with ink, it was probably pulled directly from a niello plaque rather than a sulfur mold.

Object facts

• Title: Baptism of Christ
• Date: 1400s
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving - Niello
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1925.627

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.