(Arezzo 1428/29–1506)
Christ Crowned with Thorns,
tempera on panel, 35 x 25.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection, since circa 1960

We are grateful to Alessandro Tomei for confirming the attribution of the present painting after examination in the original and for his help in cataloguing.

In this work, the figure of Christ stands out in contrast to the dark background behind him, due to the gold bordered red robe he is wearing and to the fair hair flowing over his shoulders. His features are rendered through the play of light and shadow and the cool palette of the flesh tones. These qualities recall the figures that Lorentino d’Andrea represented in the cycle of frescoes with the Stories of Saint Bernardino and the Vergine della Misericordia (Virgin of Mercy) in the Carbonati Chapel, in the church of San Francesco, Arezzo; these works are documented to 1463.

Lorentino d’Andrea is mentioned by Giorgio Vasari as a pupil of Piero della Francesca and his works are clearly derived directly from the example of his master. Likewise, in the present painting both the palette and the facial details recall the work of Piero della Francesca, which Lorentino evidently experienced and studied first-hand.