Giovanni da Milano, 'The Apocalyptic Christ (Son of Man): Central Pinnacle Panel', about 1365
About the work
Overview
This panel once formed part of the uppermost tier of a large altarpiece. Christ is shown as the ‘Apocalyptic Christ’ – that is, how he appears in the Book of Revelation, the biblical text that describes the end of the world. There, he is described as the ‘Son of Man’ wearing a long robe with a golden girdle, with head and hair ‘white as white wool, white as snow’ (Revelation 1: 14).
He holds a blue orb with seven golden stars within it, probably intended to show that ‘in his right hand he held seven stars’. In his left hand he holds a large pair of keys – the ‘keys of death and Hades [hell]’ (Revelation 1: 18).
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Apocalyptic Christ (Son of Man): Central Pinnacle Panel
- Artist
- Giovanni da Milano
- Artist dates
- documented 1346 - 1369
- Part of the series
- Pinnacle Panels
- Date made
- about 1365
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 93.7 × 37.2 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1857
- Inventory number
- NG579.6
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 14th-century Italian Frame with Later Interventions (original frame)
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Dillian Gordon, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400’, London 2011; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1864J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A New History of Painting in Italy: From the Second to the Sixteenth Century, 3 vols, London 1864
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1908O. Sirén, Giottino und seine Stellung in der gleichzeitigen florentinischen Malerei, Leipzig 1908
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1912P. Toesca, La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia dai piu antichi monumenti alla meta del Quattrocento, Milan 1912
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1923R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, 19 vols, The Hague 1923
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1935E. Panofsky, 'The Friedsam Annunciation and the Problem of the Ghent Altarpiece', Art Bulletin, XVII/4, 1935, pp. 433-73
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1950A. Marabottini, Giovanni da Milano, Florence 1950
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1950G. Vigni, Pittura del due e trecento nel Museo di Pisa, Palermo 1950
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1965L. Marcucci, Gallerie Nazionali di Firenze: I dipinti toscani del secolo XIV, Rome 1965
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1966M. Boskovits, Giovanni da Milano. I diamanti dell'arte, Florence 1966
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1970Il Cristo giudice di Giovanni da Milano per la Pinacoteca di Brera', Bollettino dell'Associazione degli Amici di Brera e dei Musei Milanesi, 1970
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1971M. Boskovits, 'Notes sur Giovanni da Milano', Revue de l'art, XI, 1971, pp. 55-8
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1980L. Cavadini, Giovanni da Milano, Valmorea 1980
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1983E.S. Skaug, 'Punch Marks: What are They Worth?: Problems of Tuscan Workshop Interrelationships in the Mid-Fourteenth Century: The Ovile Master and Giovanni da Milano', in H.W. van Os and J.R.J. van Asperen de Boer (eds), La Pittura nel XIV e XV Secolo: Il Contributo dell'Analisi Tecnica alla Storia dell'Arte, 1979, Bologna 1983, pp. 253-82
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1988Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Early Italian Schools before 1400, revised edn, London 1988
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1989A. Tartuferi, 'I "primitivi" italiani della National Gallery a Londra: Un nuovo catalogo e alcune considerazioni', Arte documento, 3, 1989, pp. 48-57
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1994E.S. Skaug, Punch Marks from Giotto to Fra Angelico: Attribution, Chronology and Workshop Relationships in Tuscan Panel Painting, With Particular Consideration to Florence c.1330-1430, Oslo 1994
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1994C. Travi, 'Il Trecento', in M. Gregori (ed.), Pittura a Como e nel Canton Ticino dal Mille al Settecento, Milan 1994
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1996D. Gordon, 'Giovanni da Milano', in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, London 1996, vol. 12, pp. 702-3
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1997J.V. Field and F.A.J.L. James, Science in Art: Works in the National Gallery That Illustrate the History of Science and Technology, Stanford in the Vale 1997
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1998M.S. Frinta, Punched Decoration on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting, Prague 1998
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1998A. Rovetta, 'Emergenze figurative nella regione dei laghi e aspetti dell'emigrazione artistica, secoli XIV-XV', in S. Della Torre, T. Mannoni and V. Pracchis (eds), Magistri d'Europa: Eventi, relazioni, strutture della migrazione di artisti e costruttori dai laghi Lombardi. Atti del convegno Como 23-26 ottobre 1996, Milan 1998, pp. 167-76
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2000N. Barker, H. Brigstocke and T. Clifford, 'A Poet in Paradise': Lord Lindsay and Christian Art (exh. cat. Scottish National Gallery, 25 August - 19 November 2000), Edinburgh 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2004M. Ceriana and C. Quattrini, Per Brera: Collezionisti e doni alla Pinacoteca dal 1882 al 2000, Florence 2004
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2008D. Parenti (ed.), Giovanni da Milano: Capolavori del Gotico fra Lombardia e Toscana (exh. cat. Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence), 10 June - 2 November 2008), Florence 2008
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2011Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400, London 2011
Frame
This is one of three fourteenth-century Italian pinnacle panels with engaged frames that were part of the uppermost tier of an altarpiece (original location unknown). The outer frame mouldings are not original but the spandrels are decorated with original pastiglia and punch-tooling.
Extensive restoration was undertaken in the nineteenth century, probably in Florence when the panel was in the Lombardi-Baldi Collection. This included the additions to the sides and base, as well as to the outer pinnacle mouldings, along with regilding.
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.
Images
About the series: Pinnacle Panels
Overview
The three panels belonged to an altarpiece that was possibly made for the church of San Salvatore al Vescovo, the Bishop of Florence’s church, located within the Palazzo Arcivescovile. They are pinnacle panels – those appearing at the top, crowning the altarpiece. At some point before they entered the National Gallery, the panels were framed as part of the Baptism Altarpiece by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini. Originally, however, they belonged to a different altarpiece altogether. They have now been removed and are displayed separately.
The central pinnacle shows the ‘Apocalyptic Christ’, the judge of humanity at the end of the world, according to the Book of Revelation (Revelation 1: 13–18). This would have been flanked by panels that show the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist, who turn inwards to look towards Christ. Both figures were traditionally seen as intercessors for humanity at this moment of judgement, making their presence here, surrounding Christ as judge, appropriate.
Works in the series
More works by Giovanni da Milano
