Baptism of Christ
Agostino Masucci1742 - 1752
Museu de São Roque
Lisboa, Portugal
Central mosaic panel of the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, which represents the Baptism of Christ in the river Jordan. Highlighted by a background of clouds across a blue sky, we find the figure of the Father and the Holy Spirit, flooding the entire composition with light. The two major figures in the scene, Jesus and St. John the Baptist, are accompanied by the Virgin Mary, and an angel kneeling as to witness the Mystery. Two other panels on the side wall show biblical scenes, namely The Annunciation of the Angel and the Pentecost, and are remarkable for the nuances and for the sense of perspective.
The mosaics (tesselae) used in the panels were produced by the Italian mosaicist Alessio Matiolli. The models for these panels were made by Agostino Masucci (1691–1758), and the mosaic panels by Mattia Moretti (died 1779).
- Title: Baptism of Christ
- Creator Lifespan: 1691; unkown; unkown - 1758; unkown; 1779
- Creator Nationality: Italian; italian; italian
- Creator Gender: Male; male; male
- Creator Death Place: Rome
- Creator Birth Place: Rome
- Date: 1742 - 1752
- Physical Dimensions: w218 x h386 cm (Total)
- Provenance: Igreja de São Roque/Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa
- Type: Mosaics
- Rights: Museu de São Roque/Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa
- External Link: Museu de São Roque/Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa
- Medium: Coloured glass mosaics (tesselae)
- Painter; Mosaicist composer; Mosaicist artisan: Agostino Masucci; Alessio Mattioli; Mattia Moretti
- Created and manufactured: Rome, Italy
- Commission: Considered to be a masterpiece unique in European art, the Chapel of Saint John the Baptism was ordered from Rome in 1742 by King John V (ruled 1706-50). It was constructed between 1742 and 1752, when it was officially inaugurated in Lisbon. The Portuguese court oversaw the construction, designed and built in Italy, under the artistic direction of the architects Luigi Vanvitelli (1700–73) and Niccolo Salvi (1697–1751).Luigi Vanvitelli was forced to change its original design to comply with the alterations sent to Italy by the architect João Frederico Ludovice (1673-1752). Hundreds of different artists and craftsmen worked on it. Consecrated by Pope Benedict XIV on 15 December 1744, in the Church of St. Anthony of the Portuguese (Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi) in Rome, it was sufficiently finished that the Pope could say mass in it on 6 May 1747. Later, the chapel was dismantled, transported to Lisbon in three ships, and reassembled in São Roque two years later.
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