ITALIAN SCHOOL FIRST THIRD OF THE XVTH CENTURY...

ITALIAN SCHOOL FIRST THIRD OF THE XVTH CENTURY
The Christ of Piety also says the Man of Sorrows
Oil on panel. On the right vertical enlargement rod: 1 cm
(small holes; restorations)
On the reverse side, an annotation in black ink in the upper right Luin (...)
and a notation underneath Ber (...) do (...) Luini.
H. 25 - W. 17 cm (Painted area: 22.5 x 15 cm)

The small size of this Christ of Piety, whether conceived alone or as part of a diptych with a Virgin and Child on the left, indicates that it was a devotional image for private use.

The representation of the dead Christ, with his hands joined together and not his arms folded, which probably follows an older motif of Tuscan origin, precisely depicting the physiognomy and evoking the suffering of the Redeemer, Imago Pietatis, constituted for the believer the visual element of a meditation on the Passion (Cf. Hans Belting, The Image and its Audience in the Middle Ages, Chapter I, pp.36 - 45 - Paris 1998).

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