Imaginary Canal with Figures
Old Master Paintings
Subtitle | (fragment of a scene with the Baptism of Christ) |
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Artist | |
Culture | Italian |
Date | ca. 1480 (?) |
Object type | painting |
Medium, technique | tempera and gold on poplar |
Dimensions | 24.6 × 35 cm |
Inventory number | 19 |
Collection | Old Master Paintings |
On view | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Cabinet 19 |
This fragment was cut from a large composition of The Baptism of Christ, which originally measured at least two and a half metres in width. Another surviving fragment from the same work (now in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow) shows the two main figures, Christ and Saint John the Baptist. The two fragments were part of the lunette, or semi-circular crowning element of an unknown altarpiece, beneath which would have been a rectangular central panel, with a predella at the very bottom. The angels, who turn towards each other with sublime expressions on their faces, carry on their shoulders the clothes that Jesus has just removed: a claret gown and a finely woven, white undergarment. Matteo di Giovanni was an exceptionally talented master with an innovative spirit: his works are characterised by vibrant figures, plasticity of form, a bright palette, and studiously observed light effects.
Pigler, Andor, Katalog der Galerie Alter Meister, 1-2. Museum der Bildenden Künste, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, p. 160.
Sallay, Dóra, Corpus of Sienese Paintings in Hungary, 1420-1510, Centro Di, Florence, 2015, p. 213-220, no. 21.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.