alb3612694

LORENZO MONACO (PIERO DI GIOVANNI). Abraham

Abraham. Artist: Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) (Italian, Florence (?) ca. 1370-1425 Florence (?)). Dimensions: Overall 26 x 16 7/8 in. (66 x 42.9 cm); painted surface 22 7/8 x 16 5/8 in. (58.1 x 42.2 cm). Date: ca. 1408-10.
These four Old Testament prophets are among the masterpieces of this leading late Gothic Florentine painter. Each figure holds an identifying attribute and strikes a rhetorical pose. Moses holds the tablets of the Ten Commandments; Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac prefigures that of Christ; David, holding a cither, is considered a direct ancestor of Christ; and Noah's ark prefigures the Church. These intense figures have reminded scholars of the sculpture of Donatello and Ghiberti. Were they arranged single file or superimposed in pairs; did they form an altarpiece or serve some other function? We can't say.

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Author: LORENZO MONACO (PIERO DI GIOVANNI) (ca. 1370-1425 (?))

Title: Abraham

Caption: Abraham. Artist: Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) (Italian, Florence (?) ca. 1370-1425 Florence (?)). Dimensions: Overall 26 x 16 7/8 in. (66 x 42.9 cm); painted surface 22 7/8 x 16 5/8 in. (58.1 x 42.2 cm). Date: ca. 1408-10. These four Old Testament prophets are among the masterpieces of this leading late Gothic Florentine painter. Each figure holds an identifying attribute and strikes a rhetorical pose. Moses holds the tablets of the Ten Commandments; Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac prefigures that of Christ; David, holding a cither, is considered a direct ancestor of Christ; and Noah's ark prefigures the Church. These intense figures have reminded scholars of the sculpture of Donatello and Ghiberti. Were they arranged single file or superimposed in pairs; did they form an altarpiece or serve some other function? We can't say.

Technique/material: Tempera on wood, gold ground

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit: Album

Releases: ? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size: 2658 × 4094 px | 31.1 MB

Print size: 22.5 × 34.7 cm | 1046.5 × 1611.8 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: EUROPE • EUROPEAN PAINTINGS • GOLD • ITALY • LORENZO MONACO (PIERO DI GIOVANNI) • METAL • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PAINTINGS • TEMPERA ON WOOD, GOLD GROUND • TEMPERA • TEMPERA, EGG-TEMPERA • TEMPLE