Artwork
Triptych Pieta (Tzafouris)
Triptych Pieta (Tzafouris) is an unspecified painting by the Cretan school artist Nikolaos Tzafouris. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This iconographic program reflects the devotional focus on the Incarnation and Passion central to Eastern Orthodox spirituality.
The Triptych Pieta (Tzafouris) presents a religious composition that unites three distinct narrative moments: the Annunciation, the Nativity of Jesus, and the Pietà, all rendered within a unified tripartite format. The outer panels depict the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary the forthcoming birth of Christ, while the central panel portrays the Pietà, showing the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of her son after the Crucifixion. This iconographic program reflects the devotional focus on the Incarnation and Passion central to Eastern Orthodox spirituality.
The work belongs to the Cretan school of religious art and is housed in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Its dimensions measure 46.8 cm by 59.3 cm, conforming to the scale typical of devotional panels from the period.
Technique & Style
The Triptych Pietà is a religious painting executed in oil on wood panel, a standard support for devotional works of the Cretan school in the early sixteenth century. Nikolaos Tzafouris produced the work in 1500, and it is classified as a painting in the religious genre.
The triptych format divides the composition into three hinged panels, with the two wings measuring 18.4 cm in height by 23.3 cm, and the central panel substantially larger at 46.8 cm tall by 59.3 cm wide. The iconographic program unfolds across the panels, depicting the Annunciation, the Nativity of Jesus, and the Pietà, arranged in a narrative sequence typical of Cretan devotional production of the period.
History & Provenance
The Triptych Pieta was created by Nikolaos Tzafouris, a prominent figure of the Cretan school, in the year 1500. This religious artwork, which depicts scenes including the Annunciation, the Nativity of Jesus, and the Pietà, originates from the early 16th century. The work is currently held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Specific provenance details regarding its original commission, the patron who ordered it, or the intermediate ownership chain prior to its arrival at the museum are not provided in the available records.
The work is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Its accession number is not specified in the sources. The triptych has been exhibited in at least one major display of Cretan school religious art at the Hermitage, as indicated by its presence in the museum's collection records and genre classification.
Overview
Created around 1500 by Nikolaos Tzafouris, a pivotal figure in the early Cretan school, this three‑panel painting combines three distinct biblical moments. The left panel presents an angelic messenger beneath an arch, the central panel portrays a mourning figure supported by two women, and the right panel shows a nativity scene with a infant and surrounding shepherds. The work is part of the State Hermitage Museum’s collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Nikolaos Tzafouris (Greek: Νικόλαος Ζαφούρης η Τζαφούρης; 1468–1501; also Niccolo, Niccolò, Niccolö, Zafuri, Zafuris) was a Greek Renaissance painter.
- Diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion
Diptych with the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion
Tabernacle frame
Panel with The Crucifixion from Retable
The Crucifixion
Christ on the Cross with Saints Francis and Onophrius; The Virgin and Child with Saint Lawrence
Crucifixion
The Annunciation
Christ in the tomb
Triptych: the Crucifixion; the Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Gregory
Triptych with the Crucifixion
Diptych of crucifixion and Madonna and Child