Doop van Christus

John the Baptist stands on a rocky bank, pouring water from a shell onto the head of Jesus, who stands in the river with his arms crossed. To the left, two winged angels watch the scene from behind a large, gnarled tree. The Holy Spirit descends from a burst of light in the sky as a dove, while a distant landscape with a bridge and buildings completes the background.

As a work by Hendrick Goltzius, this engraving exemplifies Haarlem Mannerism, a style that prioritized complex, idealized human forms and technical virtuosity. In the context of Northern European thought, the descent of the Holy Spirit (Pneuma) reflects the Neoplatonic interest in the mediation between the divine intellect and the material world.