Estimate
€ 8.000 - 12.000
Aggiudicato
Current bid Starting bid
€ 7.000
Your offer is the highest Your bid doesn't meet the reserve price La tua offerta è stata superata(0 bids, reserve not met)
At auction on Wednesday 26 November 2025 at 18:00
Information
oil on silk canvas
52 x 63 cm
signed lower left IOHANES FRACIS P CRIVELVS PINSIT
Photographic references
Zeri Photo Archive, no. 255746
52 x 63 cm
signed lower left IOHANES FRACIS P CRIVELVS PINSIT
Photographic references
Zeri Photo Archive, no. 255746
Literature
D. Benati, In cerca di Giovanni Francesco Crivelli, in Federico Zeri lavori in corso, edited by A. Bacchi, D. Benati, A. De Marchi, A. Galli, M. Natale, Bologna 2019, pp. 349-50, 356-57, fig. 3 (as unknown location).
The mysterious figure of Giovanni Francesco Crivelli, a still little-known painter active between Romagna and the Marche at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was first studied and identified by Federico Zeri. Starting in the 1980s, the scholar compiled in his archive several photographs of works attributable to Giovanni Francesco Crivelli, two of which are signed. One of these is precisely the Deposition offered here, which Zeri recorded as of unknown location and which now appears on the market for the first time.The painter’s corpus also includes a signed Madonna and Child, which appeared in a Finarte auction in Milan in 1989, another Madonna and Child of larger format, and a Deposition preserved in Baltimore at the Walters Art Museum, attributed to the painter by Daniele Benati.
The closest comparison for our painting is naturally the work of the same subject in Baltimore, where the motif of a painted faux frame with vegetal decoration reappears. The two works are also united by the same devotional and penitential tone, consistent with the cultural climate prevalent from the late fifteenth to the early sixteenth century, in which sacred paintings were intended to evoke emotional engagement, drawing the viewer into a painful empathy. This corresponds to the suffering and contrite attitudes of all the figures, not only the “historical” protagonists but also—and especially Saint Francis, depicted in the foreground with the stigmata clearly visible, and Saint Jerome in the background, striking his chest in adoration of the Cross. The presence and prominence of Saint Francis suggests a Franciscan convent commission.
Given the complete lack of biographical information on Giovanni Francesco Crivelli, it remains extremely difficult to identify the artist; however, according to Federico Zeri, he has no connection with the better-known Crivelli, Carlo and Vittore, active in the same period in the Veneto and the Marche. The scholar rather emphasizes Crivelli’s Ferrarese and Adriatic traits, clearly visible in the pietistic attitudes of the figures and the angularity of the drapery.
Contact
Condition report
To request a Condition Report, please contact dipintiantichi@finarte.it
The department will provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Please note that what Finarte declares with respect to the state of conservation of the objects corresponds only to a qualified opinion and that we are not professional conservators or restorers.
We urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. We always suggest prospective buyers to inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition during the exhibition days as indicated in the catalog.
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