GRASSI, Nicola
(b. 1682, Formeaso, d. 1748, Venezia)

The Flagellation of Christ

c. 1720
Oil on canvas, 105 x 159 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

Nicola Grassi was a late Baroque Friulian-Venetian painter who painted many altarpieces for the churches of the Friulian region and Venice.

In old catalogues the picture figured as the work of Tiepolo, and later it was attributed to Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini; not until recently has the question been settled. By now about thirty works of Nicola Grassi have been identified; his soft forms, slightly blurred design, light colours and broad, rounded faces are unmistakably recognizable in the Budapest picture, The Flagellation of Christ.