Who painted Raising of Lazarus?

Raising of Lazarus was painted by Giovanni di Paolo in 1426.

Where can I see Raising of Lazarus?

Raising of Lazarus is held by Walters Art Museum.

What movement is Raising of Lazarus?

Raising of Lazarus is associated with Sienese School.

Can I buy a print of Raising of Lazarus?

Museum-quality prints of Raising of Lazarus are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Raising of Lazarus

Giovanni di Paolo , 1426

Raising of Lazarus is an unspecified painting by the Sienese School artist Giovanni di Paolo. It dates from 1426 and is held in the collection of the Walters Art Museum.

About this work

Overview

Giovanni di Paolo’s Raising of Lazarus is a tempera panel executed in 1426 and now part of the Walters Art Museum collection. The composition centers on a dramatic biblical episode, populated by a crowd gathered around a stone tomb, with a woman in a green garment extending her arms toward the risen figure.

Subject & Meaning

The scene illustrates the New Testament miracle in which Lazarus is called forth from death. The central female figure, likely Mary, gestures toward the resurrected body, while onlookers react with a mixture of awe and reverence, emphasizing themes of faith, divine power, and the hope of salvation.

Technique & Style

The landscape background, with stylized mountains and trees, provides a serene counterpoint to the central drama.

Di Paolo employs vivid, saturated pigments to differentiate characters and convey emotional intensity. The folds of the robes are rendered with meticulous attention, creating a sense of movement, while the facial expressions are rendered with subtle exaggeration, a hallmark of early Sienese painting. The landscape background, with stylized mountains and trees, provides a serene counterpoint to the central drama.

History & Provenance

Created in the early 15th century, the work remained in private collections before entering the Walters Art Museum in the early 20th century. Documentation traces its acquisition to a donation by Henry Walters, reflecting the museum’s early focus on Italian Renaissance art.

Context

The painting belongs to a period when narrative religious panels were commissioned for private devotion or small chapels. Giovanni di Paolo, active in Siena, blended Gothic decorative richness with emerging naturalistic tendencies, situating the Raising of Lazarus within the transitional currents that preceded the full bloom of the Italian Renaissance.

The Raising of Lazarus, Duccio di Buoninsegna

Own this work as a print

Artist & collection

Artist

Giovanni di Paolo

Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts.