It is once again that time of year for the Christmas event at Palazzo Marino, and as is tradition the Municipality of Milan is offering the city and its many tourists an opportunity to see an important work of art.

This year, the picture that will be on display in the Alessi hall is the Baptism of Christ by Perugino, in line with celebrations for the five-hundredth anniversary of the Umbria-born artist’s death. It is an iconic painting that depicts the episode from the Gospel of Matthew, in which Perugino shows the Baptist pouring holy water onto the head of Christ. A dove, representing the Holy Spirit, wings outstretched, descends from the sky. Jesus, on the left, stands with his hands held together, and is draped in a simple cloth that covers his nudity; he is gazing downwards and a thin, lightly depicted halo circles his head. The Baptist is dressed with a cloth that leaves his chest half uncovered, while a red drape covers one shoulder and reaches down to his calves. In his left hand he holds a processional cross, while he baptises with the right. The two main figures are shown in elegant and plastic poses, and their bodies are almost monumental, reflecting the style of Greek statues. To the sides, two symmetrical angels are shown, as witnesses to the event.  
The landscape is typical of Umbria, gentle hills with slim-trunked trees; a natural landscape with streams and plains stretching to the horizon. In the background, between the two figures, a city can be seen, an element that was clearly necessary for the idealisation of the painting.

The landscape is typical of Umbria, gentle hills with slim-trunked trees; a natural landscape with streams and plains stretching to the horizon. In the background, between the two figures, a city can be seen, an element that was clearly necessary for the idealisation of the painting.

“But in order that the rise of this craftsman may be better known, let me begin with his origin, and relate that, according to common report, there was born in the city of Perugia, to a poor man of Castello della Pieve, named Cristofano, a son who was baptised with the name of Pietro. This son, brought up amid misery and distress, was given by his father as a shop-boy to a painter of Perugia, who was no great master of his profession, but held in great veneration both the art and the men who were excellent therein.” Giorgio Vasari’s biography of Vannucci in Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, 1568.

The event will also see the participation of the other eight Municipalities, which, from 11 December to 5 January, will each be hosting a work in their relative libraries as part of the grand decentralised exhibition project, which aims to examine the theme of infancy and baptism in art.

The event will also see the participation of the other eight Municipalities, which, from 11 December to 5 January, will each be hosting a work in their relative libraries as part of the grand decentralised exhibition project, which aims to examine the theme of infancy and baptism in art.

The exhibition “Perugino. Baptism of Christ” is curated by Marco Pierini, Veruska Picchiarelli and Domenico Piraina. It is promoted by the Municipality of Milan - Culture, with the patronage of the Perugino 1523 - 2023 Committee, planned by Palazzo Reale, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Umbria, Gallerie d’Italia - Milan, and the Library departments and municipalities.