The eunuch kneels with folded hands; Philip lays his hand on his head.
Bible in art · Acts
The Baptism of the Eunuch
Rembrandt · 1641
National Gallery of Art, Washington
An etching of 1641, much of it left in light, open lines. Rembrandt fills the road with the official’s whole escort: a rider in a plumed helmet with bow and quiver, a carriage with a parasol, a servant boy and a dog.
At the right, by the water’s edge, the eunuch kneels with folded hands while Philip lays a hand on his head.
From the text
- “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)
- “He gave orders to stop the chariot” (Acts 8:38)
- A court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 8:27)
The artist’s own
- A horseman in a plumed helmet with bow and quiver, as Rembrandt pictured eastern soldiers
- A large parasol over the carriage
Details
The baptism
The rider
An armed horseman with a plumed helmet, bow and quiver.
The carriage
A carriage with a large parasol waits on the road.
Boy and dog
A boy holding a spear stands by, with a dog at his side.
Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch, 1606–1669. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.7112) · Etching · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)