Christ Instructing Peter and John to Prepare for the Passover
Vincenzo Civerchio·1504
Historical Context
Vincenzo Civerchio's Christ Instructing Peter and John to Prepare for the Passover, dated 1504, depicts the moment when Christ sends his disciples to prepare the Last Supper. Civerchio was the leading painter in Crema, a small city in Lombardy, working in a style that combined influences from Foppa, the Bellini, and Leonardo. The precisely dated work provides a valuable anchor for understanding this regional master's development.
Technical Analysis
The tempera on panel shows Civerchio's careful, somewhat conservative Lombard style, with clear spatial organization and attention to architectural detail. The figures are modeled with the firm, sculptural quality characteristic of northern Italian painting influenced by Mantegna and the Bellini.
Provenance
Possibly a monastery in Austria;[1] (Frederick Mont, Inc) and (A.S. Drey, London), by 1937;[2] sold 1947 as by Bramantino to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1961 to NGA. [1]See letter dated 24 December 1947 in NGA curatorial files. [2] Advertised in _Burlington Magazine_ LXXI (1937), advertising supplement, pl. II. [3] See The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/523.
