On the bank of the Jordan, John the Baptist turns to the crowd and points. Far off on the dry hills, small and alone, Jesus is walking toward them. Some have not yet seen Him; some are just turning; a few already understand.

Behind John stand the young men who will become disciples: John, Peter, Andrew and Nathanael. Ivanov worked on this canvas for twenty years. Zoom in on the faces at the right, where people are coming up out of the water, to see what he meant by “joy for the first time.”