DOMENICO BECCAFUMI (after) The Crucifixion and other Scenes from the Passion of Christ.
Woodcut on 3-joined sheets of cream laid paper, circa 1540-50. 389x790 mm; 15 3/8x31 1/4 inches, small margins. Crescent watermark. Ex-collection Gian-Carlo Rossi (Lugt 2212, verso). A very good impression of this large, extremely scarce woodcut.
Beccafumi (1486-1551) was active primarily in Siena, and though he traveled to Rome in the early 1500s and was in close proximity to the Florentine Mannerists, his style remained strikingly provincial and traditional. In addition to painting, he also directed the design of the celebrated pavement of the cathedral of Siena from 1517 to 1544. The name "Mecarinus de Senis" which appears at the lower left of this image and on several other of Beccafumi's woodcuts (Passavant 10-19), likely refers to Beccafumi's shortness, "Mecarinus" being the diminutive of Domenico.
