162 - Francesco e Girolamo Bassano

Francesco e Girolamo Bassano CHRIST ON THE WAY TO CALVARY, Venetian School, 16th century Oil on canvas, frame of the period, h cm 70 x l cm 61, Work attributed to Francesco Bassano and Girolamo Bassano, depicting the theme of the “Christ Carrying the Cross”, a subject of great success within the production of the Bassano workshop. The composition is inspired by a related model conceived by Francesco Bassano the Younger, preserved in the De Frey Collection in Paris, here reinterpreted with particularly vivid chromatic and luminous effects. The iconographic subject may be compared with other versions on the same theme preserved at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Weston Park, the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest, and other European collections. Scholars have noted that the original conception derives from Francesco’s invention, while the execution appears to have involved collaboration with other members of the workshop, probably 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, Art vénitien en Suisse et au Liechtenstein • Sandra Moschini Marconi, Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia – XVI secolo Expertise of Mina Gregori and technical-bibliographical research and expertise by Galleria d’Orlane and Dr. U. Bocchi.