162 - Francesco and Girolamo Bassano

Francesco and Girolamo Bassano CHRIST ON THE WAY TO CALVARY, Venetian School, 16th century; oil on canvas, period frame; height 70 cm x width 61 cm. Work attributed to Francesco Bassano and Girolamo Bassano, depicting the theme of “Christ Carrying the Cross,” a subject that was highly popular in the Bassano workshop’s output. The composition is inspired by a related work by Francesco Bassano the Younger, now in the De Frey Collection in Paris, and is reinterpreted here with particularly vivid colors and luminous effects. The iconographic subject can be compared with other versions on the same theme held at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Weston Park, the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, and other European collections. Scholars have noted that the original concept was Francesco’s own creation, while the execution appears to have involved collaboration with other members of the workshop, likely Girolamo and Leandro Bassano. Provenance: private collection. Condition report: excellent condition; restorations consisting of cleaning, relining, and very minor pictorial retouching. Selected bibliography: • Edoardo Arslan, *I Bassano*, A. Pizzi, 1960 • Licisco Magagnato, *Catalogo del Museo Civico di Bassano*, 1978 • Bénézit – *Dictionnaire des Peintres* • Mauro Natale, Venetian Art in Switzerland and Liechtenstein • Sandra Moschini Marconi, Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia – 16th Century Expert assessment by Mina Gregori and technical-bibliographical research and assessment by Galleria d’Orlane and Dr. U. Bocchi.