Philip Baptizing the Ethiopian
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Accession Number
1896-31-30
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Michel Lasne’s “Philip Baptizing the Ethiopian,” created around 1650, captures a pivotal moment from the New Testament in which the apostle Philip shares his faith with an Ethiopian court official and performs the first recorded baptism of a Gentile. As a French printmaker active during the reign of Louis XIII and into the early years of Louis XIV, Lasne specialized in clear, finely detailed reproductive prints that brought religious and historical subjects to a broad audience. Prints such as this one played an important cultural role in seventeenth-century Europe. Before photography, engravi...