An *Ecce Homo* by a member of Leonardo’s circle

The Aulteribe panel should be seen in the context of the rise of the‘Ecce Homo’ iconographyamongst the ‘Leonardesque’ painters of the Lombard school, between the very end of^{the 15th century} and the beginning of the^16th century. It is linked to this body of work through its half-length composition, the melancholic rendering of Christ’s face, and the use of chiaroscuro.

The work is reminiscent of Andrea Solario’s paintings on this theme, notably the one held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, dated 1509.

However, the panel from Aulteribe differs from Solario’s works in that the latter always depicts the figure of Christ standing. The posture is more reminiscent of that in the panel sold in 2014 at Sotheby’s New York, attributed to Giovanni Pietro Rizzi Pedrini, known as Giampietrino. Both works feature a very similar composition, particularly with regard to the position of Christ, seated on a wooden chair with scrollwork, which appears to be cropped out of the work held at Aulteribe. The arrangement of the drapery is also similar, although in the Sotheby’s version the colours of the cloak differ. Finally, the Aulteribe version features a background consisting of a wall with a window to the right of Christ, which does not appear in the Sotheby’s version. Whilst both versions are rather damaged, the Sotheby’s version appears to be of better workmanship and could therefore be Giampietrino’s original version. The Aulteribe version would thus be a copy based on this composition. Another copy based on Giampietrino’s version, but with the composition reversed, is held at the Magnin Museum in Dijon.

According to Federico Zeri, the highlights, particularly in the hair, are characteristic of several paintings copying Giampietrino’s compositions. Antoine Lavastre suggests that the artist may have been a member of his workshop, as yet unidentified. Cristana Geddo, a leading specialist on Giampietrino, states that she discerns within this body of work (which she has expanded) two distinct artists (one quite close to the master; and another characterised by the grotesque nature of his female figures), whom she names Pseudogiampietrino A and Pseudogiampietrino B.

Although uncertain, the attribution of the work at Aulteribe Castle to a pupil of Giampietrino appears to be tenable.

Cristana Geddo, ‘La Madonna di Castel Vitoni del Giampietrino’, Achademia Leonardi Vinci, vol. VII, 1994, pp. 57–67.