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Christ Blessing

ca. 1524
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 609
This is one of Solario’s last works and must have been painted for a church in or near Milan. The painting takes the interconnectedness of heaven and earth as its theme. The original frame likely echoed the painted architecture in the picture to create the illusion that the figure of Christ stands in a space that is one with our own, erasing the boundary between divine and earthly realms. Solario reinforced this idea in his positioning of Christ’s hands, which gesture upward to heaven and downward to earth. The figure also stands atop a circle, a traditional symbol of God’s perfection, inscribed within a square, a symbol of earth with its four seasons, cardinal directions, and elements.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Christ Blessing
  • Artist: Andrea Solario (Italian, Milan ca. 1465–1524 Milan)
  • Date: ca. 1524
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 80 1/4 x 51 1/2 in. (203.8 x 130.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: From the Collection of James Stillman, Gift of Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, 1922
  • Object Number: 22.16.12
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Andrea Solario
François Bourlier
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Bust of a Bearded Figure, Andrea Solario Italian, Black, red, and ochre chalk on light brown paper (with later, substantive reintegration of the support and drawing surface along the right edges and upper portions of the sheet; detached from canvas support in 1958)
Bust of a Bearded Figure
Andrea Solario
1515–24
Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist, Andrea Solario Italian, Oil on wood
Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist
Andrea Solario
ca. 1507–9
Madonna and Child, Giovanni Bellini Italian, Oil on wood
Madonna and Child
Giovanni Bellini
late 1480s
The Baptism of Christ, Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo da Ponte) Italian, Oil on canvas
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