Polyptych of Lazarus

Francesco Squarcione's Polyptych of Lazarus (1500) represents the late work of the Paduan master who was among the most important conduits through which classical antiquarian learning entered Italian Renaissance painting. Squarcione ran one of the most celebrated workshops of the fifteenth century in Padua, where his pupils included Andrea Mantegna. His passion for ancient sculpture and architectural ornament shaped his distinctive approach to figure painting, and even in his later works the influence of antique relief sculpture is evident in the rigid clarity of form and the elaborate decorative framework. The raising of Lazarus was a subject that allowed painters to explore the drama of resurrection and divine power.

Squarcione's late style retains the hard-edged, sculptural quality for which he was known, with figures modeled with crisp contours indebted to classical relief. The polyptych format is framed with the architectural and ornamental elements that were characteristic of his workshop's output. Colors tend toward saturated primaries articulated with gold.