Emperor Heraclius Carrying the Cross to Jerusalem
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 181 x 101 cm h x w x d: Ram 203 x 123 x 7 cm
Inventory numberNM 178
AcqusitionTransferred 1866 from Kongl. Museum
Other titlesTitle (sv): Kejsar Heraclius bär korset till Jerusalem Title (en): Emperor Heraclius Carrying the Cross to Jerusalem Title (en): The Emperor Heraclius Carrying the Cross to Jerusalem
DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Italian Paintings: Three Centuries of Collecting, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2015, cat.no. 111: FORMER INV. NOS.: 68 (B. 1830s); KM 1058. TECHNICAL NOTES: The support is a piece of twill-weave linen fabric. It has been lined with glue and mounted on a non-original stretcher. The ground is beige. There are scratches in the paint layer and many old retouches. The varnish is yellowed. Documented restorations: 1947: Cleaning and varnish. 1977: Stretched. Cleaning. Varnish. PROVENANCE: Byström 1852. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Borsetti 1670, p. 48; Brisighella 1704–27 (ed. 1991), pp. 115–116; Baruffaldi 1720 (ed. 1846), vol. II, p. 84; Scalabrini [c. 1755], p. 32; Barotti 1770, p. 65; Scalabrini 1773, p. 57; Cittadella 1783, III, p. 91; Frizzi 1787, p. 97; Petrucci 1844–46 [1848], II, p. 84; NM Cat. 1867, p. 12 (as Scarsella); Sander 1872–76, IV, p. 111, no. 7 (as Scarsella); Göthe 1893, pp. 294–295; Sirén 1928, p. 31; Novelli 1955, pp. 29, 69, fig. 52; NM Cat. 1958, p. 181 (as Scarsella, manner of); Novelli 1964, p. 42, cat. no. 180; Mezzetti and Mattaliano 1981, II, p. 49; NM Cat. 1990, p. 327 (as Scarsella, manner of); Novelli 1991, pp. 115–116, no. 1; Giumanini 1999, pp. 85, 184, (doc. 1), 197 (doc. 5); Ghelfi 2005, pp. 263, 267. The present work was originally the altarpiece in the small church of Santa Croce in Ferrara. The church was granted to the inquisitors in 1614 and subsequently called the Oratorio della Crocetta dell’Inquisizione. The last time the painting was recorded as located in the church was in 1787. In 1798, during the time of the Napoleonic requisitions, it was listed as a work of precious artistry singled out for special protection. It was subsequently “lost” until it resurfaced as part of the Byström Collection. The painting shows the Byzantine emperor Heraclius carrying the great relic, which had fallen into the hands of the Persians, back to Jerusalem in the year 629. Considering its subject, Maria Angela Novelli views the painting as perhaps the best example of the spirit of the Counter-Reformation in Scarsellino’s oeuvre.¹ dp 1 Novelli 2008, pp. 181, 315, cat. no. 158. [End]
Depicted place
Motif categoryReligion/Mythology
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
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