Rombout van Troyen
(Amsterdam circa 1605 — Amsterdam 1650)

The Baptism of the Eunuch
signed, inscribed and dated R. Troien fec. 1630 in the lower left

oil on panel

12 3/4"×16 1/4" (32 cm×41.5 cm)

PROVENANCE:
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, London, April 12, 1978, lot 20; Private Collection, London; Private Collection, California

This painting depicts a passage from the Acts of the Apostles (8.(2) 6 - 40) in which Philip1 encounters an Ethiopian eunuch on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. The eunuch, treasurer to Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. Philip saw him seated in his chariot, reading aloud from the writings of the prophet Isaiah, and engaged him in conversation. Invited to ride in the vehicle, Philip explains that the passage from Isaiah foretells the Crucifixion of Christ. Upon arriving at a stream the eunuch asks to be baptized.

In this panel, having discarded his costly robe and turban, the eunuch bent in supplication along the water’s edge is anointed by Philip. A young kneeling page bears witness, holding the book of Isaiah. In marked contrast to the spirituality of the act, are the disdainful standing figures to the right and the apprehensive men of the mid-ground, all members of the eunuch’s retinue. The conflicting upward and downward hand gestures of the similarly dressed saint and retainer, facing opposite directions in the center of the panel, serve as further testimony to this division. The charged play of the dark areas against brilliant sunlight intensify the message of mixed moods. The exoticism of the costumes and fantasy element of the landscape, typical for the artist, denotes the otherworldliness of the scene.

The Baptism of the Eunuch was rarely painted in Holland during this period. Protestant theologians, especially John Calvin (1509 — 1564), thoroughly analyzed the Acts of the Apostles and their conclusions had been translated into Dutch by 1582. The story came to be regarded as a model for adult baptism and conversion.(2) Another version by Rombout van Troyen is in the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht. Considerably smaller, of about the same date, this panel depicts the baptism in a more traditional and archaic manner.

Little is known about the life of the artist. He is thought to have been a pupil of Jan Pynas (1581/2 — 1631) and worked in Amsterdam. He painted both religious and mythological subjects that often are set in underground grottos. Stylistically his arcadian landscapes with figures are related to Cornelis van Poelenburgh (1594/95 — 1667). Other works by Rombout van Troyen can be found in the museums of Braunschweig, Haarlem, Kassel, Dunkirk, Lille, Münster, Poznán and Stockholm.

(1) Philip was one of the twelve apostles as well as one of the first to be called to follow Christ. After the Ascension he is believed to have preached Christianity in Asia Minor and to have been martyred at Hierapolis in Phygia in 80 A.D..

(2) Alan Chong, "The Baptism of the Eunuch," exhibition catalogue National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Aelbert Cuyp, October 7, 2001 — January 13, 2002, pp. 109, 152.

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