The Baptism of Christ iconography is based on the first three books of the New Testament — the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It began developing in the ancient Christian period, as a holiday of Epiphany was establish in the 2nd century AD. According to the Bible, at the time when John the Baptist preached on the Jordan and baptized the people, Christ was 30 years old. The Savior came to John and asked to be baptized by him, which confused the Baptist, because Jesus Christ had no need for repentance. Nevertheless, much to John’s bewilderment, Jesus Christ told him “to fulfill all righteousness”.

During the baptism, Christ revealed Himself as the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity for the first time. During the sacrament, the Father’s voice came from heaven,

All three persons of the Holy Trinity were revealed to the world: God the Son was baptized, God the Father testified from heaven, and God the Spirit descended in the form of a dove. Therefore, Baptism is also called Epiphany.

In the center of the icon from the Irkutsk museum collection is Jesus Christ standing in the waters of the Jordan. The dark color of the river and the zig-zag outline of the banks resemble a burial cave, emphasizing the similarity between Baptism and the atoning death on the Cross. Christ is painted naked, half-turned to John. This is how Baptism is depicted in the old icons of the 14th century, as well as in the icons of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.

On the left is John the Baptist, who performs the ceremony and lays his hand on the head of Christ. John the Baptist is one of the most mystical figures in Christian iconography. He is considered the greatest of the prophets, the Forerunner of Christ. The words of the Old Testament prophecies refer to John,

On the right are the angels with veils. The Holy Spirit is featured as a dove in a beam emanating from behind the clouds.

‘Epiphany’ from the museum collection comes from the Epiphany Cathedral in Irkutsk, where it used to be the icon of the feast to which the Cathedral was dedicated. It is known that the hierodeacon Nikon Krasovsky was commissioned to paint the iconostasis of the Epiphany Cathedral in the 1830s–1840s. Later on, Krasovsky became the abbot of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and finished his days as the abbot of the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery.