Anointing of Christ in Bethany

The painting was created in 1530 by Polidoro da Lanciano in oil on canvas, a date consistent across both sources.

Its documented ownership chain begins with Bartolomeo della Nave, from whom it passed to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria before entering the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it is currently held.

The sources do not specify the circumstances of the original commission, the patron for whom the work was first produced, or any intermediate owners between della Nave and Leopold Wilhelm.

The painting Anointing of Christ in Bethany by Polidoro da Lanciano is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Historical records indicate the work was previously owned by Bartolomeo della Nave before passing to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, who eventually bequeathed it to the museum. The provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the work, nor do they detail any exhibition history.

The Anointing of Christ in Bethany by Polidoro da Lanciano was painted in 1530 as an oil work on canvas. It entered a private collection held by Bartolomeo della Nave before being acquired by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, and today it is displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Art historians place the composition within the Counter-Reformation emphasis on devotional imagery and note its influence on later Baroque treatments of sacred scenes.

Polidoro da Lanciano’s 1530 oil painting Anointing of Christ in Bethany entered multiple private collections before entering the Kunsthistorisches Museum, influencing scholarly interpretations of Counter‑Reformation religious art. Its provenance through Bartolomeo della Nave and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm contributed to the work’s documented impact on later religious paintings, establishing a precedent for narrative composition in the genre.

Painted in 1530 by Polidoro da Lanciano, an Italian artist from Lanciano, this oil-on-panel work captures the biblical moment of Christ’s anointing in Bethany. Executed during the early Mannerist period, the painting reflects a shift from High Renaissance harmony toward more expressive, emotionally charged compositions. It is now held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains a rare surviving example of the artist’s early career.