The Baptism of the Selenites

1507
Tempera on canvas, 141 x 285 cm
Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice

by Vittore Carpaccio (b. 1472, Venezia, d. 1526, Capodistria)

Episode No. 6 of the series of seven paintings "Episodes from the Life of Sts Jerome, George and Triphun".

The level of expression attained in the first two Schiavoni canvases is not matched by the other two, which were probably painted around 1507, at least according to the date on the scroll on the second step in the Baptism of the Selenites. This painting certainly contains details of great richness of colour, such as the group of musicians playing in honour of their King, who is receiving the sacrament of baptism from St George. But there is a definite lack of invention and imagination as we can see from the repetitive architectural background and figure composition. Nor does Carpaccio succeed in minimizing this effect by borrowing elements from paintings by Giovan Battista Cima, such as the Presentation in the Temple in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden.