The Baptism of the Lord

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Traditionally one of the Three Wonders that mark Epiphany on January 6th - the visit of the Magi, the Baptism and the Miracle at Cana - it has only been a separate feast since 1955, being originally on January 13th, the old octave day of Epiphany, and since 1970 on the Sunday following that feast.

To mark the feast here are two panels from the St Wolfgang Altarpiece by the astonishingly versatile Austrian painter and sculptor Michael Pacher (c.1435-98). They are part of the great altarpiece in the church of St Wolfgang im Salzkammergut in Austria. There is a biography and a list of his surviving works at Michael Pacher. this includes a description of the altarpiece and its sections - the wings can be opened and closed in three different positions. There is more about the altarpiece, which dates from 1479-81, at  Pacher, St. Wolfgang Altarpiece - Khan Academy and at St Wolfgang Altarpiece - Web Gallery of Art. There is a link to a 1983 University of Pennsylvania dissertation on the composition at The St. Wolfgang Altarpiece.

Pacher combined Renaissance perspective and ideas close to those of Mantegna with German late medieval forms to create a rich and evocative style.

Unfortunately both these photographs are dark - I am not sure whether this is just caused by the difficulties of photographing the paintings in situ or because the piece needs cleaning. I hve seen others which suggest that much brighter images are possible.

Michael Pacher St Wolfgang Altarpiece 1479-81

Image:Wikimedia

Michael Pacher St Wolfgang Altarpiece 1479-81

Image:Wikimedia

 

The St Wolfgang Altarpiece

The panels above are on the back of the wings at the side

Image:artflakes.com 

 

Another El Greco of the Baptism of Christ

Whilst revising my previous post I found a picture of another painting of the Baptism of Christ by El Greco, and thought I would share that with readers. It is extremely close in composition and details to the one in Toledo which I reproduced previously.

The Baptism of Christ

El Greco, 1597-1600

Image:museodelprado.es

Originally in the Colegio de la Encarnación in Madrid, otherwise known as that of Doña María de Aragón, de agustinos, from 1600-1813, and then in the Iglesia de San Felipe el Real y Casa de la Inquisición in the city from 1813-1835, before being moved to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando from 1835-1838 and the Museo de la Trinidad, 1838-1872 before going to the Prado.

Clearly El Greco and his patrons had no difficulties with him producing such similar paintings, and both are wonderful examples of his unique style. As regular readers will be aware I am a great admirer of his work, combining spectacular visual effects with his figures and colours with a remarkable spiritual insight. These are timeless - seemingly modern, yet more than four centuries old - and which lead to prayer and reflection.

 

The Baptism of the Lord

 The Baptism of Christ

El Greco, 1608-14

Hospital of San Juan Bautista de Afuera, Toldedo

The painting was completed after the artist's death by his son Jorge Manuel

Image: sunsite:icm.edu.pl

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the end of most of the formal liturgical Christmastide celebrations, barring their final conclusion at Candlemas on February 2nd.

As it is observed in the Novus Ordo the Feast, on the Sunday after Epiphany (or after the Sunday of Epiphany) dates from 1970. In the Vetus Ordo it is assigned to January 13th, the old Octave day of Epiphany, by both the 1955 and 1962 Missals, and indeed as a separate feast from the traditional threefold celebration of the manifestation of Christ at Epiphany ("Three wonders mark this day...") is a creation of Pope Pius XII in 1955. For that reason he re-used the Epiphany propers for the new festal observance he developed from it, and such an addition seems to me to fall within the range of things which can and should be legitimately added to the liturgy. This is the proper development of liturgy analogous to the proper development of doctrine.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition the Great Theophany is celebrated as one commemoration. As Kurt Sherry pointed out on the Medieval religion discussion group the other day, the western feast of Epiphany commemorates the adoration of the Magi, which the eastern church commemorates on Christmas itself.  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, January 6 is the feast of Theophany, which is the Baptism of Christ. The Baptism is called Theophany because it is the manifestation of the Holy Trinity (the Incarnate Son, the voice of the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove). Thus, an Orthodox church named Holy Trinity should (there are some parishes that violate the "rules" and use Rublev's Trinity or one of the "heretical" depictions of "an old man, Christ, and a bird") have the Baptism of Christ in the position to the left of the Theotokos when facing the iconostasis. Another member of the list, who is Orthodox, added the point that although Pentecost is not taken to be so explicitly Trinitarian in the West, it is celebrated as THE revelation of the Trinity among the Orthodox. Theophany -- also called Epiphany in Orthodox circles -- and Transfiguration are both celebrated as Trinitarian revelations that are consummated by Pentecost.

The Eastern Fathers had much more to say, it would appear on the basis of the magisterial and exuberant texts in the Office of Readings for this week, about the Baptism than their Western counterparts. So establishing a Feast of the Baptism to point out its enormous significance and drawing direct attention to it as a distinct event rather than subsuming it in the visit of the Magi on January 6th seems right and fitting. In so doing the abolition of the Octave, by Pope Pius, was in part undone by Pope Paul.

There is a history of the feast day here.

The painting by El Greco conveys much of the exultation of Orthodox writers about the Baptism and its significance which the artist conveyed to the Catholic Counter-Reformation world in his unique vision of things heavenly and earthly bound inextricably together.

A revised and extended version of my post from this Feast last year

The Baptism of the Lord

 The Baptism of Christ

El Greco, 1608-14

Hospital of San Juan Bautista de Afuera, Toldedo

The painting was completed after the artist's death by his son Jorge Manuel

Image: sunsite:icm.edu.pl

Today is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the end of most of the Christmastide celebrations, barring its final conclusion at Candlemas on February 2nd.

As it is marked in the Novus Ordo the Feast, on the Sunday after Epiphany (or after the Sunday of Epiphany) dates from 1970. In the Vetus Ordo it is assigned to January 13th, the old Octave day of Epiphany, by both the 1955 and 1962 Missals, and indeed as a separate feast from the traditional threefold celebration of the manifestation of Christ at Epiphany ("Three wonders mark this day...") is a creation of Pope Pius XII in 1955. For that reason he re-used the Epiphany propers for the feast he developed from it, and such a development seems to me to fall within the range of things which can and should be legitimately added to the liturgy. This is the proper development of liturgy analogous to the proper development of doctrine.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition the Great Theophany is celebrated as one commemoration, but the Eastern Fathers had much more to say, it would appear on the basis of the magisterial and exuberant texts in the Office of Readings for this week, about the Baptism than their Western counterparts. So establishing a feast of the Baptism to point out its enormous significance and drawing direct attention to it rather than the visit of the Magi on January 6th seems right and fitting, and in so doing the abolition of the Octave, by Pope Pius, is in part undone by Pope Paul.

There is a history of the feast day here.

The painting by El Greco conveys much of the exultation of Orthodox writers about the Baptism and its significance which the artist conveyed to the Catholic Counter-Reformation world in his unique vision of things heavenly and earthly bound inextricably together.