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Lot Essay
This Christ Raises a Widow’s Son to Life at Naim demonstrates Giovanni Battista Naldini’s mature Mannerist style, drawing on the compositional energy of his teacher Jacopo Pontormo and the dramatic lighting of Rosso Fiorentino. The repoussoir figures and expressive postures—particularly the striking figure of a kneeling man seen from behind—recalls Pontormo’s Deposition in the Cappella Capponi, Chiesa di Santa Felicita, Florence, while the crisp drapery and dynamic gestures evoke Rosso Fiorentino’s Deposition of 1521 in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Volterra.
Born in Florence in 1535, Naldini entered Pontormo’s workshop at the age of twelve, where he absorbed his master’s bold palettes, dynamic compositions, and expressive intensity. After Pontormo’s death in 1557, Naldini spent several years in Rome. By 1562, he returned to Florence to work under Giorgio Vasari on the celebrated Studiolo of Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The story Christ Raises a Widow’s Son to Life at Naim, is from the Gospel of Luke (7:11–15) and recounts Christ’s compassion as he revives the only son of a grieving widow during a funeral procession. Declaring, 'Young man, I say to you, arise,' Christ restores the son to life. Naldini explored this unusual subject on two other occasions: in an altarpiece for Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence (destroyed in a fire in 1771) and a drawing in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (inv. no. 88.GA.53; see G. Gruitrooy, 'A New Drawing by Giovanni Battista Naldini', The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, XVII, 1989, pp. 15–20).
Born in Florence in 1535, Naldini entered Pontormo’s workshop at the age of twelve, where he absorbed his master’s bold palettes, dynamic compositions, and expressive intensity. After Pontormo’s death in 1557, Naldini spent several years in Rome. By 1562, he returned to Florence to work under Giorgio Vasari on the celebrated Studiolo of Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
The story Christ Raises a Widow’s Son to Life at Naim, is from the Gospel of Luke (7:11–15) and recounts Christ’s compassion as he revives the only son of a grieving widow during a funeral procession. Declaring, 'Young man, I say to you, arise,' Christ restores the son to life. Naldini explored this unusual subject on two other occasions: in an altarpiece for Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence (destroyed in a fire in 1771) and a drawing in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (inv. no. 88.GA.53; see G. Gruitrooy, 'A New Drawing by Giovanni Battista Naldini', The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, XVII, 1989, pp. 15–20).