Christ Blessing

Created circa 1310 by Grifo di Tancredi, the tempera-on-panel painting Christ Blessing entered the documented historical record by 1808 within the Paris collection of Alexis-François Artaud de Montor, who likely acquired it during his residencies in Italy. Following Artaud de Montor's death, the work appeared in his estate sale in January 1851 before passing to Julien Gréau of Troyes and subsequently to his daughter, Marie, comtesse Bertrand de Broussillion. The Duveen Brothers, Inc. purchased the panel in September 1919, selling it to New York collector Carl W. Hamilton by 1920.

After Hamilton's ownership, the painting returned to Duveen and was sold on December 15, 1936, to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in Pittsburgh. It ultimately became part of the Andrew W. Mellon collection, gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1937.

Christ Blessing by Grifo di Tancredi is held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it forms part of the Andrew W. Mellon collection. The painting’s accession number is 1937.1.1, assigned following its donation in 1937 by The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. Prior to its acquisition, the work was included in the estate sale of Alexis-François Artaud de Montor in Paris (1851) and later passed through the collections of Julien Gréau and Carl W. Hamilton before being purchased by Mellon’s trust in 1936. Exhibition history remains unrecorded in the provided sources.

Grifo di Tancredi’s Christ Blessing (c. 1310) occupies a modest yet significant position in the study of late medieval Italian panel painting. The work has been discussed primarily within the context of Sienese art of the early Trecento, where it reflects the lingering influence of Duccio di Buoninsegna while anticipating the stylistic developments associated with Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers. Scholarship has emphasized its iconographic fidelity to traditional Byzantine-derived representations of Christ, particularly in the rigid frontal pose and the gesture of benediction, which were standard in central Italian religious imagery of the period.

The painting’s provenance, passing through notable French and American collections, including those of Alexis-François Artaud de Montor and the Duveen Brothers, has shaped its modern reception, positioning it as a key example of late medieval Italian devotional art within transatlantic art historical discourse. Its inclusion in the National Gallery of Art’s Mellon collection further solidified its canonical status in American museum holdings of pre-Renaissance European art.

This small tempera painting, titled Christ Blessing, was created around 1310 by the artist Grifo di Tancredi. Executed on a wooden panel, it presents a devotional image of Jesus Christ. The work's enduring vibrancy, even after centuries, highlights the quality of its materials and execution, making it a notable example of early 14th-century Italian art.