Triptych of the mystic bath

Jehan Bellegambe's Triptych of the Mystic Bath is among the most theologically complex works of early sixteenth-century Flemish painting, depicting Christ's blood flowing symbolically as a purifying bath into which the faithful are immersed. Bellegambe, working in Douai, served the devotional culture of the northern French-Flemish borderland with ambitious altarpieces that combined brilliant color with learned iconographic programs. This triptych's unusual subject, drawn from Cistercian mystical theology emphasizing Christ's blood as spiritual cleansing, reflects the sophisticated theological culture of his monastic patrons.

The unusual iconographic program of the mystic bath is rendered with Bellegambe's Franco-Flemish technique. The triptych format provides an expanded space for the complex symbolic imagery.