Grief and anguish on the face of Mary Magdalene as Jesus dies on the cross. Detail of fragmentary 1400s fresco, attributed to Renaissance artist Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni (c. 1405-1483). In the Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine) in Volterra, Tuscany, Italy. Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni was a pupil of Florentine painter and sculptor Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452).
Volterra, Tuscany, Italy: grief and anguish show on the face of Mary Magdalene, disciple of Christ, as she kneels to embrace the cross below Christ’s feet in this detail of a fragmentary fresco, attributed to Florentine School Renaissance painter Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni (c. 1405-1483), now displayed in the 13th century Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine) in Piazza XX Settembre. The fresco was brought here in 1885 from the refectory of the ruined former Camaldolese Abbey of Saint Justin, near the Balze crevasses to the northwest of the city. The complete work depicts Christ dying on the Cross witnessed by the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and Saint Romuald, 11th century founder of the Camaldolese monastic order. 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 against a gold background, achieved a sale price of £82,850 in a Christie’s auction, more than £20,000 above its upper estimate. Although that painting was sold as a work attributed to Stefano d’Antonio di Vanni, some art historians proposed alternative attributions to either Bicci di Lorenzo himself, or to Neri di Bicci, who replaced Stefano in Bicci di Lorenzo’s studio.
Size: 3872px × 2592px
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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