Andrea Previtali, 'Christ Blessing', about 1512-15
About the work
Overview
Christ raises his hand in blessing as Salvator Mundi, or ‘Saviour of the World’. Such pictures were particularly popular in north-east Italy in the second half of the fifteenth and the early sixteenth century and were usually made for the home. The popularity of this type of painting in Venice may have been due to the import of large numbers of similar paintings from the Netherlands.
Here Christ’s image is presented as though it were a portrait. His frontal pose and direct gaze are intended to appeal directly to the worshipper on a personal level.
This picture was probably painted in Bergamo shortly after Previtali’s return from Venice in 1511 or 1512. There is another slightly later version of Christ as Salvator Mundi by Previtali in the National Gallery’s collection, which is inscribed 1519.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Christ Blessing
- Artist
- Andrea Previtali
- Artist dates
- about 1480 - 1528
- Date made
- about 1512-15
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 47.7 × 38.1 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Layard Bequest, 1916
- Inventory number
- NG3087
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Nicholas Penny, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘Paintings from Bergamo, Brescia and Cremona’, London 2004; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
-
1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2004
Penny, Nicholas, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 1, Paintings from Bergamo, Brescia and Cremona, London 2004
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.