Giampietrino’s Christ Carrying the Cross Versions
The best-known versions of Christ Carrying the Cross attributed to Giampietrino fall into two distinct groups. This distinction is based on the dimensions, the internal measurements of Christ’s figure and the structural lines visible in infrared imaging.
First Group
The Painting and Giampietrino’s versions in London, Budapest and Turin
To facilitate comparison, the right-hand figure has been deliberately masked in the image of The Painting. This choice also reflects its material history: this figure remained hidden for a long time beneath a paint layer, removed only during the 1960s.
The height of Christ, measured from the lower edge of the elbow to the top of the head (segment A), is almost identical in these four works. This correspondence is confirmed by the near-perfect superimposition of the main guiding lines of the figure. It reinforces the idea of a shared internal construction and refers to the page devoted to the shared cartoon, where these tracings are examined in detail.
The classification is therefore not based solely on panel dimensions, but on reference points internal to Christ’s figure, independent of the format: segment A and the main structural tracings.
Second Group
Giampietrino’s versions in Vienna and Milan
The Vienna and Milan versions are approximately 20% larger.
Their general structure remains comparable, but their proportions suggest the use of a cartoon transferred at a larger scale rather than a strictly identical transfer.
