Moretto was one of a trio of exceptional painters (the others being Girolamo Romanino and Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo) from the city of Brescia (southeast of Bergamo) in the first half of the sixteenth century. This early work by the artist is already characterized by his exceptionally sensitive approach to devotional subjects. An unidentified donor, beautifully portrayed in his black flowing robes, has let fall his book as he experiences a vision of Christ carrying a ponderous cross, just out of arm’s reach. The inscription carved on the fragmentary base of a column is taken from Saint Paul’s first Letter to Timothy, alluding to man’s reliance on Christ as a mediator.
