A Fragment: The Good Thief (Saint Dismas)

Perino del Vaga was one of the most accomplished draughtsmen of the Italian sixteenth century, a pupil of Raphael who worked in Rome, Genoa, and back in Rome for Pope Paul III. This fragment depicting the Good Thief, Saint Dismas — who according to Luke repented on the cross and was promised paradise — is dated 1522 and held in the Royal Collection. Perino's fragment suggests a larger Crucifixion composition, and its survival as a fragment speaks to how large works were dispersed and reframed over time. Dismas was venerated particularly by those condemned to death, and images of his repentance carried both narrative and devotional weight.

The fragment presents the Good Thief with Perino's characteristic graceful line and refined anatomical modelling, the figure bound to the cross in a pose of mingled suffering and spiritual openness. The handling of flesh and shadow shows his Raphaelesque training.