“The Appearance of Christ to the People” is a painting by Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, on which he worked for 20 years. According to most critics, the work was the main result of the artist’s entire work. The author chose an event about which the first chapter of the Gospel of John tells. The source describes the baptism of the Savior and the moment when the Spirit of God in the form of a dove descends on Jesus for the first time, and the voice of the Heavenly Father is heard.

But Ivanov took the period a little earlier. With him, Christ only approaches the Jordan River, and the main plot emphasis is on the behavior of people who saw the Savior. Most of the image is occupied by a group of people baptized by the river. They are centered around John the Baptist with a wooden cross in his hands. He points to a lone figure in the distance. Someone looks, someone looks away doubtfully. In the foreground are people who have already been baptized.

Painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People” by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov is the main work of life and the final chord of the creative path of a brilliant artist

On the right is a group of Jews just approaching the Jordan. Clothes are scattered on the ground. In the distance, in the valley, one can see the buildings of Jerusalem. The horizon is covered by mountains, over which a yellowish fog is clearly visible, the hot air is filled with dust. Among the people are children and adults, slaves and wealthy citizens, future apostles, Pharisees and soldiers.

Author: Alexander Andreevich Ivanov (1806-1858).
Year of writing: 1837-1857
Size: 540 x 750 cm.
Style: Academicism, Classicism.
Genre: Religious, Historical.
Technique: Oil painting.
Material: Canvas.
Location: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Alexander Andreevich Ivanov is a Russian artist who lived in the first half of the 19th century, an academician and classicist.

The idea to create a monumental work, which was originally called “The Appearance of the Messiah”, came to the painter during his stay in Italy. Throughout 1833, he pondered the plot, and by 1834 he had completed the initial sketch, which is now in the Russian Museum.

The finished work was bought in 1855 by a collector Kozma Soldatenkov, who was keen on fine art, paying 5,000 rubles in pure silver. After some time, the work was transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery. After the revolution, in 1934, the leadership decided to move it to Leningrad, adding it to the collection of the Russian Museum.

At least two hundred sketches are known, written by Ivanov from 1834 to 1839. By the end of the work, their number had doubled. Pretty much everything has been preserved.

Working on the picture, the master attached particular importance to the images of people. This is how a large number of heads painted from life appeared.

The first impression of the picture was ambiguous. Ivanov was scolded for his gigantic scale, and the approach to the biblical story was discussed. Alexander Andreevich was very nervous, his health weakened from stress, and he caught cholera, from which he died on July 3 of the same year.

If the master had lived for a few more hours, he would have learned the good news: Alexander II estimated the painting at 15,000 rubles, and the Order of St. Vladimir was granted to the author. At the beginning of 1861, the work was sent to Moscow, to the exhibition of the Society of Art Lovers. Then the emperor transferred it to the new Rumyantsev Museum.