The plot is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of John (1: 29–31). Ivanov called this plot "universal", he strove to show all of humanity at a decisive moment, determining its fate. In the center of the picture is the figure of John the Baptist, baptizing the people in the Jordan River and pointing to the approaching Jesus. To the left of John is a group of apostles - the young John the Theologian, followed by Peter, then Andrew the First-Called, and behind him - Nathanael, the so-called "doubter". In the foreground are youths and elders - the image of an incessant life. In the center is a rich man who recoiled from Christ, and a slave about whom Ivanov said: "Through habitual suffering, for the first time, joy appeared." On the right - the figure of the "closest to Christ", in which the appearance of the writer Nikolai Gogol is recognized. In the guise of a wanderer with a staff, sitting not far from John, the artist captured his own features
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