Baptismal Font at Liège, Antique Chromolithograph, Lacroix, 1851

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in gold, olive and brown, lettered "FONDS BAPTISMAUX, A LIEGE." The cylindrical font is shown in elevation with its relief of the Baptism of Christ. Christ stands waist deep in the heaped waters of the Jordan, John the Baptist lays a hand on his head, and two angels hold his garments, while above them a bust of God the Father blesses from a roundel over the descending rays. Labels such as "JOHES BAPTISTA" and "ANGELI" sit beside the figures, Latin inscriptions run along both rims, and the font rests on cast oxen standing on a plain base.

The caption translates as "baptismal font, at Liège." The running head reads "AMEUBLEMENT RELIGIEUX". The credits read "Ferdinand Séré del.", "Chromolith. Lemercier à Paris." and "Kellerhoven lith.", with "F. Séré direxit" beneath the caption.

Le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance was published in Paris in five volumes between 1848 and 1851. Paul Lacroix, who also wrote as the Bibliophile Jacob, edited the text, and Ferdinand Séré directed the illustrations, which is why his name and the word direxit stand beneath every plate. The work surveys the manners, crafts, sciences and arts of medieval and Renaissance Europe, and its chromolithographed plates record objects held around 1850 in churches, museums and private collections. This plate is from the fourth volume, dated 1851. The font is the twelfth century work now in the church of Saint Barthélemy at Liège, generally attributed to Renier de Huy.

The rich metallic coloring makes it a handsome single picture.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.