Saint Romuald or San Romualdo, founder in the 1000s of the Camaldolese monastic order. Detail of 1400s Crucifixion fresco, attributed to Florentine Late Gothic and Renaissance artist Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni (c. 1405-1483), a pupil of painter and sculptor Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452). In the Chiesa di Sant’Agostino in Volterra, Tuscany, Italy.
Volterra, Tuscany, Italy: Saint Romuald, 11th century founder of the Camaldolese monastic order, watches as Jesus dies on the cross in this detail of a fragmentary fresco, attributed to Florentine School Renaissance painter Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni (c. 1405-1483). The fresco, now in the 13th century Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine) in Piazza XX Settembre, came here in 1885 from the refectory of the ruined former Camaldolese Abbey of Saint Justin on the outskirts of Volterra. The complete work also features the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene witnessing the Crucifixion, with Mary Magdalene embracing the shaft of the wooden cross below Christ’s feet. Saint Romuald or San Romualdo (c. 956 - ) was an Italian monk, born in Ravenna, who spent around 30 years traversing Italy founding and reforming monasteries and hermitages. He promoted a renaissance of ‘eremitical ascetism’ - the concept that the solitary and austere life of early Christian hermit monks could be combined with later monastic tradition emphasising the life and rules of a religious community. Camaldolese monks wear distinctive white habits, as seen in this depiction of Saint Romuald. Little is known about the life of Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni. He was born in Florence and became a pupil there of painter and sculptor Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452), painting a number of altarpieces with his master and also undertaking solo commissions for Tuscan churches. One of his works is in the Courtauld Gallery collection in London. In 2008, a quite similar version of this Crucifixion at Volterra, featuring the painted figures of the Virgin, Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist on a gold ground, achieved a sale price of £82,850 in a Christie’s auction, more than £20,000 above its upper estimate. That painting was sold as a work attributed to Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Chiesa di Sant’Agostino, Piazza XX Settembre, Volterra, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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