A Figure for the Flagellation of Christ

Author: Alicia Rojas Costa

This black chalk drawing is a study for one of the figures in the Flagellation of Christ (fig.), made by the Florentine artist Alessandro Fei (known as Barbiere) for the altarpiece of the Corsi Chapel in Santa Croce in Florence. This altarpiece, signed and dated 1575, stands as one of Barbiere’s best contributions for the decoration of this church. He accepted the commission as part of Giorgio Vasari’s (1511-1574) renovation, which involved a new iconographic programme for both the Corsi and Pazzi Chapels in Santa Croce.^[1]

Influenced by the work of Sebastiano del Piombo (c.1485-1547), Barbiere based his Flagellation composition, and particularly his figure of Christ, on Del Piombo’s fresco in San Pietro in Montorio, Rome.^[2] He probably became familiar with these frescoes when he was working in Rome in 1571, assisting Vasari on the chapels in the Vatican. Nonetheless, the central figure of the Rotterdam study – the flagellator at the right of Christ – is based on a different visual source. As pointed out by Hall in 1979, this figure was inspired by Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530) and his fresco of the beheading of John the Baptist at the Chiostro dello Scalzo in Florence.^[3] Both figures are seen from behind, half-naked, with a vigorous physical nature.

There is another study for the entire composition of the Flagellation made by Alessandro Barbiere in Paris^[4] which showcases, once more, the immense influence Del Sarto had on him. In this case, Barbiere exercised the use of red chalk in a highly similar manner to the sketches of the Florentine master.^[5] The fame he gained with his altarpiece for the Corsi Chapel was such that he subsequently made numerous variants.^[6]

Although Charles Loeser ascribed the Rotterdam sheet in 1928 to the hand of Gianfrancesco Rustici (1474/1475-1554),^[7] the drawing contains all of Barbiere’s artistic principles. As can also be observed in another study by him in Florence, his drawing style is characterized by an intensity of the outlines over the interior contours and a schematization of the forms.^[8] Moreover, pentimenti are a constant in his work, such as those observed in the flagellator’s left hand in the Rotterdam drawing.^[9] Compared to the final altarpiece, small differences can be noticed. In the study, for example, the flagellator is naked and wearing a helmet, while in the final painting he is clothed but his head uncovered. The drawing has been squared to ease the transfer process.