Not much is known about the Bavarian artist Johann Käppler. Presumably born in Munich ca. 1585, he was taught by the painter Johann Donauer the Elder. He presented his masterpiece - signifying his independence as a master - in 1605. After becoming a master in the Munich guild, Käppler became an important collaborator in the Munich workshop of Pieter de Witte, called Candid. Candid, who was born in Bruges in 1548, trained in Florence and Rome - hence his Italianized moniker - before moving to Munich in 1586 to become court painter to Duke William V (1548–1626) and his successor Maximilian I (1573–1651). 

In 1614, Käppler painted a series of ten allegorical ceiling paintings in the Gallery of Coats of Arms in the Munich Residenz, which have been preserved. In addition, he was also active for over a decade in the Munich tapestry manufacture, where he produced many large-scale cartoons for tapestries. Käppler is known to have drawn the cartoons for the Kaisersaalteppiche, a series of twelve tapestries depicting heroes from the Old Testament and their mythological counterparts. More than a mere studio assistant, Käppler seems to have been a key figure in Candid’s studio, which shaped late Mannerism and the early Baroque in Munich. In 1626, he was documented as one of the painters working on the high altar of St Jacob’s Church in Dachau, another project that was largely financed by Maximilian. 

The present arched Baptism of Christ, executed in black ink and gray wash, is rendered in a distinct Late Mannerist style. The dynamic scene is divided into two spheres: the earthly realm below, where John the Baptist pours water over a kneeling Christ, and a celestial realm above filled with swirling angels, all illuminated by the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. If the sheet was created within the workshop of Pieter Candid, it serves as an important document of Käppler’s collaborative role and mastery in translating his master’s complex designs. However, given that the monogram "IK" in the bottom right corner prominently identifies Johann Käppler as its maker, it is much more probable that this drawing forms part of a project - possibly an altar piece - Käppler took on as an independent painter, after having left Candid’s studio.