Image: Dome Mosaic: Baptism of Christ

The Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Detail of dome mosaic in the Battistero Neoniano (Orthodox Baptistery) in Ravenna, dating from 451-75. On lower right is a personification of the Jordan River as an old man rising from the water, holding a reed in one hand and offering a garment to Christ in the other. The right arm of John the Baptist, the dove, and Christ's head are 18th-century restorations and the dish was a controversial addition of the 19th century, but the rest is original.