The Baptism of Christ  1950

This extraordinary altarpiece—deeply expressive and almost unique in showing the baptism of Christ as a nocturne—is the last known work by the great Venetian painter. Bassano left it unfinished at his death in 1592, and his heirs retained it for more than a century. To our eyes, the painting’s unfinished (non finito) style seems a crucial step towards modernism, to be comp...