The Raising of Lazarus (Sebastiano del Piombo) in the context of Transfer of panel paintings

⭐ Core Definition: The Raising of Lazarus (Sebastiano del Piombo)

The Raising of Lazarus is a large altarpiece of 1517–1519 by the Italian High Renaissance artist Sebastiano del Piombo, for which Michelangelo supplied drawings for some figures. Intended for Narbonne Cathedral in France, it is now normally in Room 18 of the National Gallery in London, where it is "NG1", the first painting catalogued at the founding of the gallery in 1824.

It was commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, then Archbishop of Narbonne and later Pope Clement VII (r. 1523–24), in what was effectively a contest engineered by Michelangelo, using Sebastiano as "a kind of deputy", or "cat's paw", in a rivalry between the two and Raphael, whose Transfiguration (now in the Vatican Pinacoteca) is the same size of 381 cm × 299 cm (150 in × 118 in) and was commissioned for the same cathedral. The verdict of Roman critical opinion was that Raphael's painting won.

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👉 The Raising of Lazarus (Sebastiano del Piombo) in the context of Transfer of panel paintings

The practice of conserving an unstable painting on panel by transferring it from its original decayed, worm-eaten, cracked, or distorted wood support to canvas or a new panel has been practised since the 18th century. It has now been largely superseded by improved methods of wood conservation.

The practice evolved in Naples and Cremona in 1711–1725 and reached France by the middle of the 18th century. It was especially widely practiced in the second half of the 19th century. Similar techniques are used to transfer frescos. Oil paintings on canvas often receive additional support or are transferred to a new backing.

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