Felice Riccio, called Brusasorci

With Derek Johns, London;

From whom acquired by the late collector, 1998.

The Veronese artist Felice Brusasorci, one of the earliest painters in northern Italy to experiment with stone supports, frequently employed polished slate and dark marble to heighten the expressive power of his compositions. In this dramatic scene, the deep black of the slate intensifies the nocturnal atmosphere, drawing attention to the radiant child who is about to be baptized by a bishop. The presence of three allegorical female figures—Faith, Hope, and Charity—suggests a multivalent, and somewhat elusive, iconographic meaning. At right, shadowy figures appear to be cast out of the composition, their muscular forms recalling the damned in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.