Painting #019 - Piero della Francesca

Piero della Francesca  (c.1415–1492, Florence)

Baptism of Christ  
- Piero della Francesca 
- tempera on panel (168 x 116 cm) 1450
(Originally part of a triptych for a monastery in Tuscany)
- National Gallery (London)

It portrays Christ being baptized by Saint John the Baptist. 

Francesca was also a mathematician and excelled in Euclidean geometry. The painting is formed of a semi-circle on top of a square. The dove, representing the Holy Spirit, has its head at the centre of the semi-circle, and its wings on the diameter. The bottom half of the circle is subtly outlined by the landscape. 

Christ, John's hand, the bird and the bowl form an axis which divides the painting in two symmetrical parts. The white tree divides the painting according to a golden ratio. John's arm and leg form two angles of the same size.

The three angels on the left wear different clothes and are holding each other's hands. This could be an allusion to the contemporary Council of Florence (1431–45), whose goal was the unification of the Western and Orthodox Churches. Such symbolism is also suggested by the presence of figures dressed in an oriental fashion. 

Source: Wikipedia