Agostino Ciampelli Christ before Pilate
Agostino Ciampelli
Florence 1565–1630 Rome
Christ before Pilate
indistinctly inscribed on the reverse: L [...] Da Empoli Pitore f [...] / Vi [...]
oil on copper
unframed: 30.9 x 25.8 cm.; 12⅛ x 10⅛ in.
framed: 42.2 x 35.5 cm.; 16⅝ x 14 in.
Condition Report:
The copper plate is flat and stable. The paint surface is dirty and the varnish has become cloudy and uneven. One loss to the paint surface can be noted in the upper right corner, close to the upper margin. This measures approximately 0.5 x 0.5 cm. The paint surface has become abraded in some parts, causing the top layers of paint and the surface colour to become thin. This is particularly noticeable in a patch towards the upper right corner, in the darks on Christ’s tunic, and in the darks on the clothing of the figure in the centre. A few spots of retouching are visible to the naked eye: these can be found in the upper left corner, filling in an old loss, in a spot close to the upper right corner, in a couple of spots on Christ’s tunic, and in the background upper centre. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms these as retouchings, while revealing a handful of others scattered throughout the composition, primarily employed as strengthening to the dark colours of the clothing worn by the figure in the centre. Overall, the painting is in fairly good condition. It would benefit from a clean and re-varnishing.
Catalogue Note:
This recently discovered painting relates to a larger picture by Ciampelli, on canvas, that sold at Christie's London in 2012.1 The present work was almost certainly executed as a preparatory study for that painting, accounting for some of the minor differences in the details. These can be noted primarily in the figures' clothing and the choice of colouring.
An old inscription on the reverse of the copper plate, which appears to date to the 17th century, connects the painting with the work of another Tuscan painter working during the same period, Jacopo da Empoli (1551–1640). The correct attribution for the present picture seems likely to have been lost, therefore, for centuries.
We are grateful to Dott.ssa Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Agostino Ciampelli upon examination of digital images.
1 Oil on canvas, 187 x 146 cm.; London, Christie's, 4 May 2012, lot 74.
View it on
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Agostino Ciampelli
Florence 1565–1630 Rome
Christ before Pilate
indistinctly inscribed on the reverse: L [...] Da Empoli Pitore f [...] / Vi [...]
oil on copper
unframed: 30.9 x 25.8 cm.; 12⅛ x 10⅛ in.
framed: 42.2 x 35.5 cm.; 16⅝ x 14 in.
Condition Report:
The copper plate is flat and stable. The paint surface is dirty and the varnish has become cloudy and uneven. One loss to the paint surface can be noted in the upper right corner, close to the upper margin. This measures approximately 0.5 x 0.5 cm. The paint surface has become abraded in some parts, causing the top layers of paint and the surface colour to become thin. This is particularly noticeable in a patch towards the upper right corner, in the darks on Christ’s tunic, and in the darks on the clothing of the figure in the centre. A few spots of retouching are visible to the naked eye: these can be found in the upper left corner, filling in an old loss, in a spot close to the upper right corner, in a couple of spots on Christ’s tunic, and in the background upper centre. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms these as retouchings, while revealing a handful of others scattered throughout the composition, primarily employed as strengthening to the dark colours of the clothing worn by the figure in the centre. Overall, the painting is in fairly good condition. It would benefit from a clean and re-varnishing.
Catalogue Note:
This recently discovered painting relates to a larger picture by Ciampelli, on canvas, that sold at Christie's London in 2012.1 The present work was almost certainly executed as a preparatory study for that painting, accounting for some of the minor differences in the details. These can be noted primarily in the figures' clothing and the choice of colouring.
An old inscription on the reverse of the copper plate, which appears to date to the 17th century, connects the painting with the work of another Tuscan painter working during the same period, Jacopo da Empoli (1551–1640). The correct attribution for the present picture seems likely to have been lost, therefore, for centuries.
We are grateful to Dott.ssa Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Agostino Ciampelli upon examination of digital images.
1 Oil on canvas, 187 x 146 cm.; London, Christie's, 4 May 2012, lot 74.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
