Christ Carrying the Cross
Artist: Follower of Giovanni Bellini (Italian, born 1431/1436 - 1516)
Date: about 1500-1510
Dimensions:
H: 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm); W: 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm);
Frame: H: 25 1/8 in. (63.8 cm); W: 20 7/8 in. (53 cm); Depth: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1940.44
Label Text:Who painted this picture? When the Museum purchased this painting in 1940, it was considered an original work by the Venetian master Giovanni Bellini. But as time passed and after a cleaning in 1986, several art historians questioned this attribution. After recent research, we now feel more confident that Bellini indeed worked on the painting. Famous and successful, Bellini had a very large workshop, which was typical in Venice during the Renaissance. While an assistant may have done much of the work, the hand of Bellini himself is evident in the execution of the drapery folds and the delicate pseudo-writing on Christ’s sleeve.
This intimate painting with its dramatic “close-up” of Jesus was used for private devotion and was a very popular item for the Bellini workshop. There are no less than 55 versions of this subject. Toledo’s is considered one of the finest.
This intimate painting with its dramatic “close-up” of Jesus was used for private devotion and was a very popular item for the Bellini workshop. There are no less than 55 versions of this subject. Toledo’s is considered one of the finest.
Not on view
In Collection(s)