Christ on the cross by Lorenzo Monaco
Christ on the Cross with Saints Benedict, Francis, and Romuald, by Lorenzo Monaco (1405 and 1407)
Lorenzo Monaco was a Sienese painter and miniaturist of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age, active principally in Florence. He was born Piero di Giovanni. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He has been considered the last important exponent of the Giotto style, before the Renaissance revolution that came with Fra Angelico.
Formed in the same tradition as Giotto, who was a great influence to him. He later worked with Gaddi in painting the predella of the altarpiece in the Nobili Chapel in Santa Maria degli Angeli.
In 1390 he entered the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, as a novice, where he took his vows in 1391. Here he worked for a long time as an illuminator in the scriptorium and as a panel painter, consecrating himself at the time as the greatest painter of sacred subjects in Florence. The three chorales in the Laurentian Library date back to the last decade of the 14th century, and where executed for his own Camaldolese monastery, already perceive a personal style, characterized by taut linearism and a cold chromatic range.
His works, in general, showed images with a strong spiritual value, detached from reality, where the profane and naturalistic elements are usually almost completely absent. The numerous commissions that he took, led him to request several times dispensations to leave the monastery, which were regularly granted by his superiors, but Lorenzo never forgot his monastic status.
Lorenzo's works remained popular in the 1420s, as testified by the numerous commissions he received. The pictorial quality remains very high, with an original use of the contour line, which creates one of the most imaginative results of all Florentine painting.
In this scene, the trio of Saints express their adoration to Christ on the cross, who is the central figure. An abundance of blood spills out of his arms, and the wound on his right side also bleeds profusely. Saint Francis, consumed by love, embraces the cross, just as he is traditionally represented in many other depictions like this one.
This image is a public domain image, which means either that copyright has expired in the image or the copyright holder has waived their copyright. Franciscan Gallery charges for the access to high resolution copy of the image. Manually restoration was necessary in order to improve quality, without covering the original image.
Comments
Post a Comment