FOPPA, Vincenzo
(b. 1427/30, Brescia, d. 1515/16, Brescia)

Crucifixion

1456
Tempera on wood, 68 x 38 cm
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

The relation of Foppa's earliest dated work, the Crucifixion, to Quattrocento art elsewhere is clear. The embracing arch and imperial profile portraits in the spandrels show his adaptation of classicised architecture and motifs. The pose of the bad thief and the treatment of the background landscape betray a knowledge of Jacopo Bellini. The muscular vigour of the bodies and the violence of the expressions and poses, however, are typical of Foppa. The expressive impact of the scene evolves from the manner in which he contrasts the suffering of the two thieves with the calm serenity of the figure of Christ.