Ugolino di Nerio, 'The Betrayal of Christ', possibly 1325-8
About the work
Overview
This panel is one of four in our collection that come from the lowest part of an altarpiece (the predella) made for the church of Santa Croce in Florence. It shows the moment, described in the Gospels, when Jesus Christ was arrested by Roman soldiers. The soldiers are on the right in elaborate armour; their helmets were originally silver but the silver leaf has darkened over time. They were accompanied by chief priests from the Jewish Temple – the bearded men on the left of the scene.
The arrest was organised by Christ’s disciple Judas. We see him in the centre of the scene, kissing Jesus on the cheek – a prearranged signal for the authorities: ‘The one I shall kiss is the man; seize him and lead him away under guard’ (Mark 14: 44–45). As this is happening, Jesus raises his hand to rebuke Saint Peter, as he sees him assaulting one of the men.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Betrayal of Christ
- Artist
- Ugolino di Nerio
- Artist dates
- documented 1317-27; died possibly 1329
- Part of the series
- The Santa Croce Altarpiece
- Date made
- possibly 1325-8
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 40.4 × 58.8 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1885
- Inventory number
- NG1188
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 14th-century Sienese Frame (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.
Exhibition history
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2014Making ColourThe National Gallery (London)18 June 2014 - 7 September 2014
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2017Pietro Lorenzetti: Siena to Hull, a Masterpiece RevealedFerens Art Gallery9 January 2017 - 23 April 2017
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2022Donatello, the RenaissanceVictoria and Albert Museum11 February 2023 - 11 June 2023
Bibliography
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1550G. Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani, Florence 1550
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1785G. Della Valle, Lettere senesi, Rome 1785
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1837G.F. Waagen, Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris, vol. 1, Berlin 1837
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1857G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], translated from German by Elizabeth Eastlake, 3 vols, London 1857, vol. 3
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1903J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy, Umbria, Florence and Siena, from the Second to the Sixteenth Century, ed. R.L. Douglas, 2nd edn, 6 vols, London 1903
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1913H.F. Cook (ed.), A Catalogue of the Paintings at Doughty House, Richmond and Elsewhere in the Collection of Sir Frederick Cook, Bt, 3 vols, London 1913
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1935R.R. Tatlock, 'Ugolino da Siena's Predella Completed', Apollo, XXI/122, 1935, pp. 65-6
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1955G. Coor, 'Contributions to the Study of Ugolino di Nerio's Art', Art Bulletin, XXXVII, 1955, pp. 153-65
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
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1971M.S. Frinta, 'Note on the Punched Decoration of Two Early Painted Panels at the Fogg Art Museum: St. Dominic and the Crucifixion', Art Bulletin, LXXX/3, 1971, pp. 306-9
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1973M. Davies, 'Ugolino da Siena: Some Observations', Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, XVII/2-3, 1973, pp. 249-56
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1978H. Loyrette, 'Une source pour la reconstruction du polyptyque d'Ugolino da Siena à Santa Croce', Paragone, XXIX/343, 1978, pp. 15-23
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1979C. Gardner von Teuffel, 'The Buttressed Altarpiece: A Forgotten Aspect of Tuscan Fourteenth-Century Altarpiece Design', Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, XXI, 1979, pp. 21-65
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1981E. Carli, La pittura senese del Trecento, Milan 1981
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1982J. Cannon, 'Simone Martini, the Dominicans and the Early Sienese Polyptych', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XLV, 1982, pp. 69-93
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1984D. Gordon and A. Reeve, 'Three Newly-Acquired Panels from the Altarpiece for Santa Croce by Ugolino di Nerio', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, VIII, 1984, pp. 36-45
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1985J. Mills and R. White, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IX, 1985, pp. 70-1
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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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1989D. Bomford et al., Italian Painting before 1400 (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 29 November 1989 - 28 February 1990), London 1989
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1991J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
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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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1994N.E. Muller, 'Reflections on Ugolino di Nerio's Santa Croce Polyptych', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, LVII/1, 1994, pp. 45-74
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2000G. Finaldi, The Image of Christ, London 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2011Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400, London 2011
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: The Santa Croce Altarpiece
Overview
These panels were once part of a large altarpiece which adorned the high altar of the church of Santa Croce in Florence. It focused on the Passion of Christ (his torture and crucifixion) and the Resurrection – an appropriate theme, as the church was dedicated to the Holy Cross.
Drawings made in the late eighteenth century show how it was arranged originally. There were four tiers of images: the main tier had a central image of the Virgin and Child flanked by images of the saints within arches, which were decorated with angels (there are two sets of these in the National Gallery’s collection).
Above was a row of saints framed in pairs; we hold two pairs. The uppermost tier consisted of six pinnacle panels, three on either side of a central image which probably showed the Crucifixion, itself topped by an image of Christ making a blessing gesture. The predella (the lowest layer) consisted of seven scenes showing Christ’s suffering and death; we have four of these.
Works in the series
More works by Ugolino di Nerio
