Probably by Benedetto Bonfigli, 'The Adoration of the Kings, and Christ on the Cross', about 1465-75
About the work
Overview
The beginning and end of Christ’s life on earth are juxtaposed in this small panel painting. On the left, the Virgin Mary sits with the infant Christ on her lap in front of the stable where he was born. Saint Joseph, her husband, sits on the ground in the left-hand corner. In the middle, three figures present gifts to Christ. This is the Adoration of the Kings, when three kings from the East followed a star to Bethlehem to find the King of the Jews. On the right, in a barren landscape, the adult Christ is shown on the Cross, eyes closed and head slumped in death.
This painting could have been a part of a predella (a row of small pictures running along the base of an altarpiece) although it’s unusual to show the Adoration and the Crucifixion in a single painting. It may have been made as a complete small picture for private devotion.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Adoration of the Kings, and Christ on the Cross
- Artist
- Probably by Benedetto Bonfigli
- Artist dates
- active 1445; died 1496
- Date made
- about 1465-75
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 37.5 × 49.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1901
- Inventory number
- NG1843
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
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.
Bibliography
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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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1905E. Hutton, 'The Father of Perugian Painting', The Burlington Magazine, VII, 1905, pp. 133-8
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1912W. Bombe, Geschichte der Peruginer Malerei, Berlin 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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1961F. Zeri, 'Appunti sull'Ermitage e sul Museo Puskin', Bollettino d'arte, 1961
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1968B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works, with an Index of Places: Central Italian and North Italian Schools, revised edn, 3 vols, London 1968
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1985F. Santi, Galleria nazionale dell'Umbria. Dipinti, sculture e oggetti dei secoli XV-XVI, Rome 1985
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1987F. Zeri, La pittura in Italia: Il Quattrocento, Milan 1987
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1989F. Todini, La pittura umbra: Al Duecento al primo Cinquecento, Milan 1989
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1992F.F. Mancini, Benedetto Bonfigli, Perugia 1992
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1997National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, October 1997 - January 2000', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXI, 2000
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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.