Niccolo di Liberatore, 'Christ on the Cross, and Other Scenes', 1487
About the work
Overview
The central panel of this triptych (a painting made up of three sections) shows the crucified Christ. Angels cover their eyes unable to bear the sight as they gather the blood from his wounds in chalices, which resemble those which hold the wine of the Eucharist, drunk at Mass. The fainting Virgin Mary is supported by two women, and Christ’s so-called ‘beloved’ disciple, often thought to be John the Evangelist, wrings his hands in grief.
The figure who wraps his arms around the base of the Cross is a thirteenth-century saint, Francis. His prayer was so intense that he had a vision of Christ on the Cross and at that moment received the stigmata (the wounds of Christ) in his hands and feet; his bleeding feet are apparent here. The triptych was once at a church in Aquila, in eastern Italy, that was dedicated to Saint Clare, who founded an order of Franciscan nuns.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Christ on the Cross, and Other Scenes
- Artist
- Niccolo di Liberatore
- Artist dates
- active about 1456; died 1502
- Date made
- 1487
- Medium and support
- egg tempera and oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 92.1 × 57.8 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated and inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1881
- Inventory number
- NG1107
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2011Devotion by Design: Italian Altarpieces before 1500The National Gallery (London)6 July 2011 - 2 October 2011
Bibliography
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1872S.F. Cibo, Niccolò Alunno e la scuola Umbria, Rome 1872
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1872A. Rossi, I pittori di Foligno nel secolo d'oro delle arti italiane, Perugia 1872
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1878G. Vasari, Le vite de'più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori: Con nuove annotazioni e commenti di Gaetano Milanesi, ed. G. Milanesi, 8 vols, Florence 1878
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1912R. Ergas, Niccolò da Foligno Genannt Alunno: Eine kunsthistorische Studie, Munich 1912
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1923U. Gnoli, Pittori e miniatori nell'Umbria, Spoleto 1923
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1923R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, 19 vols, The Hague 1923
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1987B. Cole, Italian Art 1250-1550: The Relation of Renaissance Art to Life and Society, New York 1987
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1987E. Lunghi and F. Todini, Nicolò di Liberatore, detto l'Alunno, Spoleto 1987
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1993E. Lunghi, Niccolò Alunno in Umbria: Guida alle opere di Niccolò di Liberatore detto l'Alunno nelle chiese e nei musei della regione, Assisi 1993
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1994C. Galassi, 'Niccolò di Liberatore: Il crocifisso ligneo del museo di S. Francesco a Montefalco e altre opere giovanili. Considerazioni sulla formazione', Storia dell'arte, 81, 1994, pp. 194-206
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.