Flagellation of Christ, Roman painter of the second half of the 16th century, follower of Sebastiano del Piombo, oil on panel Dimensions: panel W 41.5 x H 58.5 cm, frame W 58 x H 72.5 cm x 7.5 D Price: by private negotiation Object accompanied by certificate of authenticity and XRF analysis The work, executed in oil on panel, is an interpretation of the famous Flagellation of Christ painted by Luciani Sebastiano, known as Sebastiano del Piombo (Venice c. 1485 - Rome 1547), located in the church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome. The subject was very successful and was repeatedly proposed on canvases and panels by artists active in the 16th century. Sebastiano del Piombo's work, executed in oil on wall, was commissioned to the painter by the banker Pierfrancesco Borgherini and realized between 1516 and 1524. Critics have long investigated Michelangelo Buonarroti's role as the inventor of the composition. The treatment of the subject outside its narrative context, as an iconic and contemplative image, already had illustrious precedents, but no one had ever addressed it in a monumental key for a public altar, an aspect that contributed to the work's immediate and widespread resonance. It was established as an iconographic source and a point of reference for subsequent interpretations of the theme, including Caravaggio's Flagellation preserved in the Capodimonte Museum. We also recall the version in the Galleria Borghese, which critics associate with the work of Marcello Venusti, dating it to 1570. The extraordinary fortune of the work is evidenced, in addition to the replica that Sebastiano himself executed for the church of Osservanza del Paradiso in Viterbo (now in the city's Civic Museum), by the numerous reproductions, faithful copies or variations, disseminated in the field of easel painting for private use. It is within this context that the painting presented here is placed. Christ is depicted in the center of the composition, wrapped only in a loincloth and tied to a column placed in the center of a large Renaissance hall. His tormentors are depicted behind him and to the side, in the background. The figures stand out from the darkness through a light that comes from the right and contributes to the drama of the scene. The light, directly striking Christ's semi-naked body, emphasizes the centrality of the figure by highlighting its anatomical rendering. Compared to Sebastiano del Piombo's wall painting, the arrangement of the group of tormentors and the architectural setting here appears very close to the panel in the Galleria Borghese. Of excellent pictorial quality and in good state of conservation, the work is a valuable testimony to the great success the subject had among the nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie of the time. Presented within a contemporary carved wooden frame, natural wood with gold highlights.
Period: 16th century