Italian, Florentine, 'Portrait of Savonarola', perhaps about 1500-40
About the work
Overview
The identity of the tonsured friar portrayed here is made clear by the scene painted on the reverse of the panel, which records the execution of Girolamo Savonarola and his two companions. This took place in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence on 23 May 1498.
Savonarola (1452–1498) was a Dominican preacher and leader in the populist revolution in Florence during the 1490s. He preached against the tyrannical abuses of the Medici rulers of the city and had numerous followers. His crusade against impiety and luxury gained him great political power in Florence, especially during the republic established after the death of Lorenzo de' Medici and the exile of Lorenzo’s son Piero in 1494.
On the reverse of this panel, the three Dominican friars hang by their necks as a huge fire rages beneath them. This work seems to have been painted about 1500–40, perhaps based on an earlier print. The back and the front of the panel were probably painted by the same artist.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of Savonarola
- Artist
- Italian, Florentine
- Date made
- perhaps about 1500-40
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 21.2 × 16.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Dr William Radford, 1890
- Inventory number
- NG1301
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Subjects
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2011Money and Beauty: Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the VanitiesPalazzo Strozzi17 September 2011 - 22 January 2012
Bibliography
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1850C.C. Southey, The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, London 1850
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1931G. Schnitzer, Savonarola, Milan 1931
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1946Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, London 1946
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1962Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1970D. Weinstein, Savonarola and Florence: Prophecy and Patriotism in the Renaissance, Princeton 1970
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1975C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
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1990A. Dülberg, Privatporträts: Geschichte und Ikonologie einer Gattung im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert., Berlin 1990
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1996S. Padovani, L'Eta di Savonarola: Fra Bartolomeo e la Scuola di San Marco (exh. cat. Palazzo Pitti, 25 April - 28 July 1996), Florence 1996
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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.