Feast of the Baptism of the Lord: Political Art
In the city of Ravenna there are two Baptistries, largely similar in design in shape. Both are octagonal structures capped with a dome. At the top of the dome, both have mosaics of the Baptism of the Lord.

One key difference exists between these two mosaics, however: Christ's Beard or lack thereof.

The Baptistry that portrays a bearded Christ is the older of the two. It was built as part of a larger Basilica complex on the orders of the local bishop.

Fifty Years later, a second Baptistry would be built, also part of a larger construction project. This time under the orders not of the Bishop, but of Theodoric the Great, Ostrogothic King of Italy. Theodoric and his Ostrogoth settlers were Arian Christians, holding to the belief that Christ was a creation of God the Father and therefore subordinate.

Arianism was slightly more than a theological dispute between the Ostrogoths and their subjects. It served as a marker of their foreignness, something which both sides were often keen to emphasize.

Unwilling to convert to Chalcedonian Christianity, but still tolerating the broader faith of his subject peoples, Theodoric and the Ostrogoths built up parallel Arian churches for themselves.

As part of the building program, Theodoric the Great had a Baptistry built to mirror the great Baptistry of the Chalcedonian Christians, with the notable difference of Christ being clean shaven at His Baptism. Placing emphasis on Christ's youth and inexperience at the moment of His Baptism, subtly nodding towards the idea that Christ was created rather than co-eternal with the Father.