probably by Sassoferrato, after Pietro Perugino, 'The Baptism of Christ', about 1630-50

The Baptism of Christ

probably by Sassoferrato, after Pietro Perugino

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This scene shows Christ being baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The composition is directly based on a panel painted by Perugino for the Benedictine Abbey of San Pietro in Perugia, Italy. When the work was acquired by the National Gallery in the nineteenth century it was thought to be an authentic Renaissance painting, but was subsequently dismissed as a nineteenth-century forgery. Recent technical examination has shown that its pigments are typical of those used in the seventeenth century, including the rare lead-tin-antimony yellow.

In the mid-seventeenth century, Perugino’s original painting was still at San Pietro, where it would have been seen by Sassoferrato, who was working there between 1630 and 1650. Known primarily for his images of the Virgin Mary, Sassoferrato was also a skilled copyist. This painting demonstrates several of his stylistic idiosyncracies, and he is one of the few painters known to have used lead-tin-antimony yellow.

In-depth

Previously dismissed as a nineteenth-century forgery, this painting is now known to be a seventeenth-century copy of a panel by Pietro Perugino for the Benedictine Abbey of San Pietro in Perugia, Italy. It is one of two almost identical versions of a Baptism of Christ which were offered to the National Gallery in the nineteenth century as authentic Renaissance paintings. Both are copies of Perugino’s Baptism, from the predella of the high altar that was dedicated in the year 1500. We bought this panel, and the other was sold to the Royal Museums in Canterbury (now Canterbury City Council Museums). Both were subsequently thought to be forgeries, but in 1970 we took pigment samples from our painting and were surprised to discover that it contained no ‘modern’ pigments. In fact, when these samples were analysed again in 2009, it was established that the painting includes a rare pigment, lead-tin-antimony yellow, which has generally been found only in paintings made in Rome in the seventeenth century. Other pigments are also consistent with a seventeenth-century date, as is the warm pinkish ground.

In the mid-seventeenth century Perugino’s original painting was still at San Pietro in Perugia, where it would have been seen by Sassoferrato. Known primarily for his numerous images of the Virgin – such as The Virgin in Prayer – Sassoferrato was also a skilled copyist, following the common seventeenth-century practice of reproducing works by other masters (his Virgin and Child Embracing is a version of an etching by Guido Reni). Between 1630 and 1650 he produced several pictures for San Pietro – some were original compositions but most were copies after Raphael, Perugino and others.

This painting shows several of Sassoferrato’s stylistic idiosyncracies: the rounded faces and broad, flat leaves are quite unlike those in Perugino’s original and more like those in Sassoferrato’s Virgin and Child Embracing. He is also one of the few painters known to have used lead-tin-antimony yellow.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Baptism of Christ
Artist: probably by Sassoferrato, after Pietro Perugino
Artist dates: 1609 - 1685; living 1469; died 1523
Date made: about 1630-50
Medium and support: oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Dimensions: 32.5 × 59 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1894
Inventory number: NG1431
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Godfrey Kopp, Rome, 1894.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2010

Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries

The National Gallery (London)

30 June 2010 - 12 September 2010

Bibliography

1899

H. Horne, 'An Inquiry into Two Pictures Recently Acquired for the National Gallery', Magazine of Art, 1899, pp. 241-6
1901

A. Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana, 11 vols, Milan 1901
1907

E. Durand-Gréville, 'Le Baptême de la National Gallery', Bulletin de l'art ancien et moderne, IX, 1907, pp. 70-1
1907

E. Durand-Gréville, 'Review of "Le Baptême de la National Gallery", Bulletin de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, 1907', L'arte, 1907
1908

G.C. Williamson, Pietro Vannucci, Called Perugino, 3rd edn, London 1908
1916

R.C. Witt, 'The Cataloguing of the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XXVIII/155, 1916, pp. 190-2
1923

U. Gnoli, Pietro Perugino, Spoleto 1923
1951

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
1961

M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
1961

R. Jullian, 'Le retable de l'Ascension par Pérugin au musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon', Bulletin des musées et monuments Lyonnais, II/4, 1961, pp. 57-80
1986

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2010

H. Howard and S. Nethersole, 'Two Copies of Perugino's "Baptism of Christ"', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXXI, 2010, pp. 78-95
2010

S. Nethersole and H. Howard, 'Perugino, Sassoferrato and a "Beautiful Little Work" in the National Gallery, London', The Burlington Magazine, CLII/1287, 2010, pp. 376-84

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

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You've viewed 6 of 8 works

probably by Sassoferrato, after Pietro Perugino, 'The Baptism of Christ', about 1630-50

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Sassoferrato

Related works