Life of Christ (Giotto)

Two of the works in Munich, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion

The Life of Christ is a series of seven paintings in tempera and gold on panel, attributed to Giotto and dating to around 1320–1325. Depicting the Nativity and Passion of Christ, and Pentecost, they are now housed in a number of museums: three are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Berenson Collection in Settignano and the National Gallery in London all have one each.

List

Image Title Dimensions Country City Collection Attribution and notes
Adoration of the Magi 44 × 45cm United States New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art
Presentation in the Temple 44 × 43cm United States Boston Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Acquired by Jean Paul Richter in 1900 on the advice of Bernard Berenson; one of the best of the group.
Last Supper 42.56 × 43cm Germany Munich Alte Pinakothek Acquired from a private collection by Maximilian I of Bavaria in 1805.
Crucifixion 45 × 43.5 cm Germany Munich Alte Pinakothek Acquired by Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1813.
Deposition 44.5 × 43cm Italy Florence Villa I Tatti (Berenson Collection)
Descent into Limbo 45 × 43.5 cm Germany Munich Alte Pinakothek Similar provenance to Crucifixion.
Pentecost 45 × 43.5 cm United Kingdom London National Gallery Donated in 1942; one of the best in the series.

See also

Bibliography

  • Baccheschi, Edi (1977), L'opera completa di Giotto (in Italian), Milan: Rizzoli [ISBN unspecified]
  • AA.VV. (1986), Alte Pinakothek Munich, Munich: Edition Lipp, ISBN 978-3-87490-701-9
  • Syre, Cornelia (2007), Alte Pinakothek. Italienische Malerei (in German), Ostfilnder: Hantje Cantz, ISBN 978-3-7757-1840-0
  • Bellosi, Luciano (2003), "Giotto", Dal Gotico al Rinascimento (in Italian), Florence: Scala, ISBN 88-8117-092-2