probably by Sassoferrato, after Pietro Perugino, 'The Baptism of Christ', about 1630-50
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.
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
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
-
2010Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and DiscoveriesThe National Gallery (London)30 June 2010 - 12 September 2010
Bibliography
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1899H. Horne, 'An Inquiry into Two Pictures Recently Acquired for the National Gallery', Magazine of Art, 1899, pp. 241-6
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1901A. Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana, 11 vols, Milan 1901
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1907E. Durand-Gréville, 'Le Baptême de la National Gallery', Bulletin de l'art ancien et moderne, IX, 1907, pp. 70-1
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1907E. Durand-Gréville, 'Review of "Le Baptême de la National Gallery", Bulletin de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, 1907', L'arte, 1907
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1908G.C. Williamson, Pietro Vannucci, Called Perugino, 3rd edn, London 1908
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1916R.C. Witt, 'The Cataloguing of the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XXVIII/155, 1916, pp. 190-2
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1923U. Gnoli, Pietro Perugino, Spoleto 1923
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
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1961R. 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
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2010H. Howard and S. Nethersole, 'Two Copies of Perugino's "Baptism of Christ"', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXXI, 2010, pp. 78-95
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2010S. 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.