In the background, to the left of John the Baptist – a group of future disciples of Christ, the apostles. Right – one of the most important for the philosophical understanding of the picture group – a slave and a master.
The gentleman sits with his back to the audience and dresses after Baptism. Having accepted a new faith, the master, however, does not consider it necessary to convert a slave into it, because he thinks that it is only necessary for the freeborn people, and for the slave the faith that proclaimed. that all people are brothers – to nothing.
However, a slave with a rope around his neck, giving his master clothes, listens to the words of the sermon, and they penetrate into his heart, and a smile of hope illuminates his morbid, wrinkled face. The figure of a slave in the picture is a symbol of liberation through spiritual insight.
The image of John the Baptist. Fragment of the painting by Alexander Ivanov 
The image of Christ. Fragment of the painting by Alexander Ivanov 
The Appearance of Christ to the People by Alexander Ivanov 
An old man and a young man emerging from the water. Fragment by Alexander Ivanov 
Olives at the cemetery in Albano. A young month by Alexander Ivanov 
The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene after Resurrection by Alexander Ivanov 
The image of the penitent sinner (N. V. Gogol). Fragment of the painting by Alexander Ivanov 
Esclaves. Fragment – Alexander Ivanov