Description
Attributed to Amico ASPERTINI (1475 - 1552). The arrest of Christ. Poplar panel in tondo, grisaille. Unframed. Diam. 33.2 cm. Old restorations. On the reverse, inscription 'Galle Barberini' and 'via Cucli G ...'The episode of Christ's arrest in the Garden of Olives, when he receives Judas's kiss, takes place at night, and the nocturne is evoked here by the torches, carried by the guards on the left. On the right, we see the fight between Simon-Pierre and Malchus, often depicted (John, 18, 10). Painted in imitation-bronze shades of brown, the panel's description of the Roman armor and torches, inspired by the reliefs on Trajan's column, shows a great concern for archaeological truth. It was in the Roman milieu of Raphael's pupils that this research into authentic antique motifs drawn from excavations - such as those at the Domus Aurea - developed, disseminated, for example, by the frescoes and engraved friezes of Polidoro da Caravaggio. The attribution of our painting to Amico Aspertini is based more on comparison with his drawings than on his large-scale color paintings. However, some of his grisaille paintings are known (exhibition catalog, Amico Aspertini (1474-1552) artista bizzarro nell'età di Durer e Raffaello , Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale 2008-2009, pp. 102-105). This panel may have been part of the frame of a large altarpiece, like the two tondi by Polidoro da Caravaggio for the Pescheria altarpiece (Naples, Museo di Capodimonte). Similar examples exist in France (round enamels by Jean Fouquet for the Melun diptych) and Spain (tondi by Vicente Macip in the Prado Museum, Madrid). A drawing by Biagio Pupini (before 1511 - after 1575) on the same subject, preserved in the Louvre's Department of Graphic Arts (INV 8854, Recto) interprets our composition with numerous variants. Amico Aspertini, a major figure in the Bolognese school of the early 16th century, trained with Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Francia. During his stay in Rome, he was influenced by Pinturicchio and Filippino Lippi, and was fascinated by antique motifs, which he revived in a unique, violently anti-classical language, featuring extravagant details. Vasari described him as a "capricious man with a bizarre brain". In the years when the Raphaelesque trend took root in Bologna, he resisted this style and developed an acerbic mannerism, which looked more to Nordic engravings, such as those by Dürer. Expert: Cabinet Turquin.
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Attributed to Amico ASPERTINI (1475 - 1552). The arrest of Christ. Poplar panel in tondo, grisaille. Unframed. Diam. 33.2 cm. Old restorations. On the reverse, inscription 'Galle Barberini' and 'via Cucli G ...'The episode of Christ's arrest in the Garden of Olives, when he receives Judas's kiss, takes place at night, and the nocturne is evoked here by the torches, carried by the guards on the left. On the right, we see the fight between Simon-Pierre and Malchus, often depicted (John, 18, 10). Painted in imitation-bronze shades of brown, the panel's description of the Roman armor and torches, inspired by the reliefs on Trajan's column, shows a great concern for archaeological truth. It was in the Roman milieu of Raphael's pupils that this research into authentic antique motifs drawn from excavations - such as those at the Domus Aurea - developed, disseminated, for example, by the frescoes and engraved friezes of Polidoro da Caravaggio. The attribution of our painting to Amico Aspertini is based more on comparison with his drawings than on his large-scale color paintings. However, some of his grisaille paintings are known (exhibition catalog, Amico Aspertini (1474-1552) artista bizzarro nell'età di Durer e Raffaello , Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale 2008-2009, pp. 102-105). This panel may have been part of the frame of a large altarpiece, like the two tondi by Polidoro da Caravaggio for the Pescheria altarpiece (Naples, Museo di Capodimonte). Similar examples exist in France (round enamels by Jean Fouquet for the Melun diptych) and Spain (tondi by Vicente Macip in the Prado Museum, Madrid). A drawing by Biagio Pupini (before 1511 - after 1575) on the same subject, preserved in the Louvre's Department of Graphic Arts (INV 8854, Recto) interprets our composition with numerous variants. Amico Aspertini, a major figure in the Bolognese school of the early 16th century, trained with Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Francia. During his stay in Rome, he was influenced by Pinturicchio and Filippino Lippi, and was fascinated by antique motifs, which he revived in a unique, violently anti-classical language, featuring extravagant details. Vasari described him as a "capricious man with a bizarre brain". In the years when the Raphaelesque trend took root in Bologna, he resisted this style and developed an acerbic mannerism, which looked more to Nordic engravings, such as those by Dürer. Expert: Cabinet Turquin.
