Ecce Homo, Andrea Solario (Milan, circa 1470 – Milan, 1524) follower of

Andrea Solario (Milan, circa 1470 – Milan, 1524) follower of
Ecce Homo

oil painting on canvas

64 cm x 45 cm.
in frame 92 x 72 cm.

Reference bibliography: David Alan Brown: Andrea Solario, Milan 1987

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The proposed work, depicting the intense image of Christ crowned with thorns, takes up the iconography of the Ecce homo conceived by Andrea Solario (Milan, c. 1470 – Milan, 1524), one of the protagonists of the most glorious period of the Lombard Renaissance: it is a much celebrated theme in the artist's career and then replicated by his workshop in numerous variations, with slight differences from one another, testifying to the enormous success it already achieved with contemporary collectors.

In our case, Christ is portrayed half-length against a monochrome background, wearing the crown of thorns and holding a reed scepter, both symbols of royalty bestowed upon him by the soldiers to mock him during his captivity. His hands are bound with a rope, and his shoulders are wrapped in a simple purple cloak.

The great art historian David Alan Brown has described Andrea Solario's Ecce Homo (c. 1507–1509) as one of his most iconic compositions. In his catalogue raisonné dedicated to the artist, Brown identified the two reference autograph versions, the original prototypes, one at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the other at the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 *).

There are also numerous "secondary" works of Andrea Solario's Ecce Homo (over fifteen versions have been recorded) which are divided between youthful prototypes and historical replicas made by his workshop or by followers active in the immediately subsequent period.

In addition to the two reference points of Leipzig and Philadelphia, we can find the main ones of these other versions in the following locations:
Italian museums
Poldi Pezzoli Museum (Milan): it houses a splendid youthful version dating back to around 1505-1506.
Accademia Carrara (Bergamo): houses a variant dated between 1500 and 1505, executed on paper applied to wood.
International Museums
Ashmolean Museum (Oxford): a particular variant (1505-1507) where Christ holds the cane used to flagellate him.
National Museum (Warsaw): unique version (1505-1510) in which the Savior wears a purple cloak instead of a red one.

There is also a large number of works held in private collections or sold at the most prestigious European auctions, often high-quality workshop replicas, which confirm the commercial success this composition enjoyed as early as the 16th century. For example, we can mention:

Image 3 – A. Solario (attributed), Ecce Homo, Lempertz Cologne, Auction 1185 of 20.11.202
https://www.lempertz.com/en/catalogues/lot/1185-1/1507-andrea-solario.html
Image 4 – A. Solario (Bottega), Ecce Homo, Vienna Dorotheum, 10.11.2020
https://www.dorotheum.com/it/l/6937675/
Imm.5 – A. Solario (e Bottega), Ecce Homo, Sotheby's London, 07.12.2011
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/old-master-and-british-paintings-evening-sale/l…
Image 6 – A. Solario (follower), Ecce Homo, Lempertz Cologne, Auction 1067 of 21.05.2016
https://www.lempertz.com/en/catalogues/lot/1067-1/1202-andrea-solario-copy-after.html

The style of the work blends the sensitive yet powerful Italian naturalism with the intense emotion of the Nordic masters.

Leonardo da Vinci's influence is profound and structural, absorbed by Solario during his stay in Milan and then reworked in a dramatic and devotional key: for example, we see the well-balanced sfumato technique, reminiscent of Leonardo, with the typical soft transition of shadows and lights, eliminating the sharp edges to softly blend the body of Christ with the dark background.

Jesus's face reflects an intimate and melancholic suffering, a characteristic derived directly from Leonardo's studies of the "motions of the soul" and human expressiveness, in addition to the detail of the crossed hands and the raised veins that derive from the master's life studies. Leonardo's softness combines with a strong plastic emphasis and sharp details, influenced by both Flemish painting and Northern Italian classicism.

As for our version, it is a work created with an excellent level of pictorial precision, with an extraordinary expressive force, such that it can be easily compared to the previous Solarian prototypes.

We can therefore deduce that the author was one of the artists who gravitated around Solari's entourage, or one of his followers active at a later time; many were the authors who, being part of his group of students, necessarily came into contact with the prototypes of the works and had the opportunity to tackle this subject.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is completed by a pleasant frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.

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