The Crucifixion
Oil on canvas
106 x 145 cm
41 ¾ x 57 in.
1596-1600
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Provenance:
Cesari Naldi collection, Faenza (?);
Private collection.
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Literature:
Probably, G.M.Valgimigli, “Cenni biografici intorno al cav. Ferraù Fenzoni pittore”, in Atti e Memori Della Regia Deputazione di Storia Patria Romagna, 1875, pp. 133-149.
G. Scavizzi, N. Schwed, Ferraù Fenzoni, Todi, 2006, cat. P55, reproduced p. 167.
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This striking depiction of the Crucifixion by Ferraù Fenzoni is an important addition to the oeuvre of an artist who has only recently formed the subject of a serious monograph. The monumentality and expressive force used in our painting to evoke Christ’s passion is characteristic of Fenzoni and of the Mannerist style more generally. Furthermore, the 70 paintings and 160 drawings that constitute his artistic production, the majority being religious commissions, offer a richer and deeper understanding of Roman Mannerism of which Fenzoni was a major exponent.
Little is known about Fenzoni’s early years or where he trained. However, it has been suggested that he learned the art of painting in Bologna under the influence of the Caraccis, before arriving in Rome in his early twenties where he was acquainted with Federico Barocci, Andrea Lilio and Ventura Salimbeni (1). Rome in the late 16th century was a growing city where the resurgence of the Counter-Reformation presented artists with new opportunities. Here Fenzoni formed part of a complex network of artists from all over Italy many of whom found inspiration in recent Northern European trends. We may thus consider Fenzoni’s work at the stylistic crossroads between the most recent Mannerist developments dominated by Federico Zuccaro and the new solutions formulated by the Flemish, notably Hendrick Goltzius, active in Rome around 1590.
It is in Rome that Fenzoni received the commissions that launched his career. He was responsible for the vast decorative schemes promoted by Sixtus V, namely the series of frescoes in the Scala Santa of which Moses and the Brazen Serpent was the first to be completed in 1587. In 1591, he worked on the decoration of the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, including the remarkable fresco of the little dome with God the Father and Angels Playing Music. Fenzoni’s last significant commission in Rome was the series of five great frescoes of Santa Maria Maggiore illustrating the Life of the Virgin, arguably one of his most original works (2).
In spite of his success in Rome, Fenzoni moved to Umbria in 1593-4. The bishop of Todi, Angel Cesi, commissioned Fenzoni to create a number of paintings and frescoes, namely for the Palazzo Vescovile and the Cathedral, in an effort to infuse the provincial town of Umbria with the style of the capital (3). After a successful stay in Todi, Fenzoni returned to his hometown of Faenza in 1599, which despite being the longest period of the artist’s life, is the least well documented.
Our painting was probably painted when Fenzoni was in Umbria or shortly after his arrival in Faenza. It represents one of the most dramatic moments of the Crucifixion, namely the beginning of Christ’s suffering. He is nailed to the cross although oddly enough he does not have a wound on his ribs and is not wearing the loincloth. His left hand, still free, is about to be nailed down by one of the soldiers. Around the cross, chaos reigns and here is where we see Fenzoni’s talent. The axis of the cross divides the scene into two distinct parts: on the right, the slave drivers deprived of compassion lead Christ to his doom; on the left, John the Evangelist points to Christ’s nailed hand and Joseph of Arimathea stares at the man with a turban gesturing as if to protect the Christ from the soldiers. A red cloth thrown over bones and a skull in the lower part of the composition, function as a memento mori and forecast Christ’s fate.
We may date our painting between 1595 and 1600 at the time of Fenzoni’s stay in Todi where he was working on the fresco of the Last Judgment for the Duomo (Scavizzi and Schwed, op. cit., n° P23, reproduced p. 127), or in his first years back in Faenza. The compositional similarities between the two renderings of the body of Christ are striking. A preparatory drawing (nude, black chalk, London Walter Lees collection, Scavizzi, Schwed, op. cit., n° D74, reproduced p. 288) of Christ’s body for this fresco reinforces this comparison. The Mass of St George, dating from circa 1596 (conserved in the Communal Pinacoteca of Todi; originally made for the Temple of Saint Fortunate) also presents interesting compositional similarities. The old man and the fair maiden flanking the crouched figure may be compared to the figures of Joseph of Arimathea and John the Evangelist in our painting.
This powerful painting by Fenzoni illustrates the singularity of the Mannerist style. The bodily contortions of the figures and the sombre skies caught between day and night not only succeed in creating a strong sense of drama, but also illustrate the distinct way or manera with which the artist transformed this well-known biblical story into a highly personal expression.
This work, in excellent condition, is the only known Crucifixion to have been painted by Fenzoni, and may well be the same painting mentioned by G. M. Valgimigli in 1875 as forming part of the collection of Cesari Naldi, the Earl of Faenza (4).
References:
(1) G. Scavizzi, N. Schwed, Ferraù Fenzoni, Todi, 2006, cat. P55, reproduced pp. 10-11.
(2) Op. cit., p. 27.
(3) Op. cit., p. 31.
(4) G.M.Valgimigli cites in 1875 a painting, Cristo in atto di venir conficcato sulla croce con molte figure, in this collection. G. M.Valgimigli, “Cenni biografici intorno al cav. Ferraù Fenzoni pittore”, in Atti e Memori Della Regia Deputazione di Storia Patria Romagna, 1875, p. 146, p. 167.
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