The Baptism of Christ

Hendrik de Clerck’s career marks an interesting moment of transition in Flemish painting, between the late Flemish Mannerist school, led by painters like the Francken and Floris families, and the succeeding generation of painters, like Rubens. He is recorded working in Rome in 1587 with his fellow countryman Frans van de Casteele and upon his return to the Netherlands, de Clerck was appointed Court Painter at Brussels to Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553-1595), and later to the Archdukes Albert VII (1559-1621) and Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566-1633). This panel shows the painter’s characteristically soft modelling in the flesh tones of his figures, which are typified by their statuesque forms.