Christ Carrying the Cross

The panel, likely intended for individual devotion due to its small size, portrays Jesus Christ in a significant moment of his Passion. He is depicted carrying the cross on which he will be martyred, on his way to Golgotha. This figure is both intense and poignant, with an emphasis on the thick drops of blood running down his hair and the solemn gaze of the Savior, who appears to look at the viewer with an awareness of the fate that awaits him.
This iconography, whose exact origin is unknown (though it is most probably Nordic—see Imolesi Pozzi 2012; Zama 2015), found its main interpreters in Venetian artistic culture, particularly among Giovanni Bellini and his followers. Francesco Zaganelli (documented between 1484 and 1532), originally from Cotignola and primarily active in Romagna, frequently drew inspiration from this figurative cultural horizon. Together with his brother Bernardino (documented between 1495 and 1519)—with whom he collaborated for many years before their partnership ended around 1510 (Zama 1994, 29)—Francesco was a prominent artist in these regions, producing numerous works for private devotion and for the altars of the more important churches.
The subject addressed in this panel was notably successful in the Zaganelli workshop, resulting in nine versions attributable to their circle. These versions are distinguishable only by minor stylistic accents and feature the same composition of Christ carrying the cross, portrayed in three-quarter profile against a dark background (Imolesi Pozzi 2012; Martini 2021). Among these, the example in the Museo di Palazzo Venezia is notable for its intensity and quality, particularly evident in Christ’s almost tangible white, rumpled robe and the detailed tufts of his beard. This work is likely attributed to Francesco, the initial owner of the Zaganelli company (Suida 1930/1931; Santangelo 1947; Zeri 1955; Tempestini 2000), although there have been preferences to attribute it to his circle (Zama 1994; Martini 2021) or his brother Bernardino (Roli 1965).
The panel, already attributed to Francesco Zaganelli, first came to the attention of scholars in the early twentieth century, when it was part of Giulio Sterbini’s collection in Rome (Venturi 1906). It later became part of Giovanni Battista Armenise’s collection (Santangelo 1947) at an unknown date while still in Rome. In May 1940, Armenise donated many of his works to the Museo di Palazzo Venezia, including Christ Carrying the Cross.

Luca Mattedi

 

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Good. The paint film appears well preserved.

Matteucci 1945.

Rome, Galleria Giulio Sterbini, documented in 1906;
Rome, Collezione Giovanni Battista Armenise, until 1940;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, May 1940.

Venturi Adolfo, La Galleria Sterbini in Roma, Roma 1906, pp. 191-195, n. 48;
Suida von Wilhelm, Francesco Zaganelli von Cotignola und die Deutsche Kunst, in «Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst», LXIV, 1930/1931, pp. 248-251;
Buscaroli Rezio, La pittura romagnola del Quattrocento, Faenza 1931, p. 375;
Santangelo Antonino (a cura di), Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo. 1. Dipinti, Roma 1947, p. 38;
Zeri Federico (a cura di), Catalogo del Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale. 3. I dipinti del Museo di Palazzo Venezia in Roma, Roma 1955, p. 8, n. 116;
Roli Renato, Sul problema di Bernardino e Francesco Zaganelli, in «Arte antica e moderna», VIII, 1965, pp. 223-243;
Zeri Federico,"Antico" e "moderno" nel tardo Cinquecento: una tela nella Pinacoteca di Monza, in «Paragone», XXXV, 411, 1984, pp. 10-14, fig. 7;
Zama Raffaella (a cura di), Zaganelli e dintorni. Per una ricerca sui dipinti di Francesco e Bernardino, fra Cotignola e Ravenna, catalogo della mostra (Cotignola, Palazzo Sforza, 18-26 febbraio 1989), Faenza 1989, p. 9;
Zama Raffaella, Gli Zaganelli, Rimini 1994, pp. 162-163, n. 51;
Tempestini Anchise, Un Cristo con la croce di Francesco Zaganelli, in Terraroli Valerio et al. (a cura di), L’arte nella storia: contributi di critica e storia dell'arte per Gianni Carlo Sciolla, Milano 2000, pp. 319-321;
Imolesi Pozzi Antonella, La fortuna di un’immagine del Cristo Portacroce della bottega degli Zaganelli, in «Romagna Arte e Storia», XXXII, 94, 2012, pp. 31-40;
Zama Raffaella, Sull’arcivescovo Rinaldo Graziani OFM e l’iconografia dell’Immacolata Concezione in Romagna: un mecenate per gli Zaganelli fra dispute e riforme del suo tempo, in «Romagna Arte e Storia», XXXV, 103, 2015, pp. 47-74;
Martini Giorgio, La serie dei Cristo portacroce degli Zaganelli. Un’analisi storico-critica tra modelli e interpretazioni, in Settembrini Federico, Zama Raffaella (a cura di), Novena. Storie di un Cristo Portacroce acquisito tra varianti antiche e meditazioni contemporanee, catalogo della mostra (Cotignola, Palazzo Sforza, 11 dicembre 2021-6 marzo 2022), Cotignola 2021, pp. 14-23, n. A.