Artwork
Scenes from a Legend
Scenes from a Legend is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Giovanni Larciani (Master of the Kress Landscapes). It dates from 1518 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created around 1518, this oil on canvas work by Giovanni Larciani presents a narrative tableau drawn from a traditional legend.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created by Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani, also known as the Master of the Kress Landscapes, the painting dates to approximately 1515 or 1520.
Scenes from a Legend is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 27.9 cm in height and 88.9 cm in width, presenting a narrow, horizontal format typical of landscape panels from this period. Created by Giovanni di Lorenzo Larciani, also known as the Master of the Kress Landscapes, the painting dates to approximately 1515 or 1520. The medium and dimensions reflect the artist's approach to narrative landscape painting during the early sixteenth century.
History & Provenance
Scenes from a Legend is dated probably c. 1515/1520 and is executed in oil on canvas. The work's documented provenance begins with the Niccolini collection in Florence. It subsequently passed to Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, who held it in Florence and Rome before selling it in 1936 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York.
The Kress Foundation transferred the painting as a gift in 1939 to the National Gallery of Art, where it remains as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection.
No commission details are recorded in the available sources, and the early history of the painting prior to its appearance in the Niccolini collection is not documented.
Scenes from a Legend is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The painting entered the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1936, having previously belonged to Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi in Florence and Rome, and to the Niccolini collection in Florence. The Kress Foundation gifted the work to the National Gallery of Art in 1939. The painting is documented in The Kress Collection Digital Archive, an online resource maintained by the gallery.
No subsequent exhibition history beyond the 1939 gift to the National Gallery of Art is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Created around 1518, this oil on canvas work by Giovanni Larciani presents a narrative tableau drawn from a traditional legend. The composition centers on a rider in vivid red, surrounded by a gathering of figures within a gently rolling landscape that includes trees, hills and a distant water feature.
Subject & Meaning
The central mounted figure appears to be the focal point of the legendary episode, with the surrounding onlookers suggesting a moment of communal attention or revelation. The arrangement of characters and the natural setting together convey a story that likely resonated with contemporary audiences familiar with the tale.
Context
Produced during the High Renaissance, the work reflects contemporary interests in narrative painting and the integration of human drama within naturalistic settings. Its compositional balance and use of light echo broader trends among Tuscan artists of the time.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Larciani (Master of the Kress Landscapes)
Giovanni Larciani (1515–1520) was an artist.
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