The ''Salvation Triptych'' ( or ''Trittico della Salvazione'') is a

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

in oils on canvas by

Moretto da Brescia Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His da ...

, dating to 1521–1524 or 1527–28. All three of its panels are now in private collections, two in

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and one in

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

. The work centres on the theme of salvation brought about by the

Passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

, with side panels of ''The Drunkenness of Noah'' (left) and ''The Brazen Serpent'' (right) and a centre panel of ''Moses Striking the Rock at Mara'', though no historian or art historian recorded seeing the three panels together. An archive note from 1912 mentions ''The Brazen Serpent'' in the Oldofredi collection in

before being acquired by its current private owner in 1983. In 1750 Giovanni Battista Carboni mentioned ''Noah'' and ''Moses'' as still being in Brescia in the Maffei-Fenaroli collection, where they were also mentioned by Federico Odorici in his

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect ...

guidebook and in an 1875 catalogue of the collection. ''Noah'' was then put up for auction in 1882 but did not sell and so entered the Mazzotti-Fenaroli collection in

Rudiano Rudiano (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 millio ...

, and then its current home in the Fenaroli collection in Biella, both times by inheritance. ''Moses'' was instead acquired by the Bettoni-Cazzago collection.

References

Bibliography

* {{Moretto da Brescia Paintings by Moretto da Brescia Triptychs Paintings in Brescia 1520s paintings Paintings of Moses Paintings of Noah