Creator Bazzano, Gaspare

Medium Artwork: Painting

City Palermo | Region Italy | Old kingdom Sicily

Artwork
The Circumcision of Jesus. Oil on canvas, 180 x 150 cm. Provenance: Chiesa de San Francesco de Paola. The wikipedia article on Bazzano appears to list this work erroneously as “Crocifissione” instead of “Circuncisione”. If this error is correct, it appears that the painting may date from 1611-1612. Details of the religious content of the circumcision scene is given in https://www.christianiconography.info/sicily/circumcisionBazzano.html (consulted 28 Mar 2024).

Instruments
Front view of a vihuela. The instrument several Spanish and Italian instruments from the period. The lower bout is more semi-circular than is typical and the leaf-shaped pegbox is also unusual (similar to those of the 1936 instruments by Arnold Dolmetsch), and more of a Spanish style than the more customary Italian scroll or sickle shape. The fingerboard has light strips along the edges and appears to have tied frets, but rather indistinct. The bridge is quite wide and it is possible that the seven strings are representing a 7-course instrument. the number of reverse entry pegs on the pegbox may number as many as ten, but these are not altogether clear.

Photograph by Bor Zuljan (2024), used with permission.