MADRID.- The Resurrected Christ was probably commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese to Giulio Clovio, who finished the work around 1550. The artist used Michelangelo’s sculpture of the same name, conserved in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, as inspiration for the composition.

Known for his friendship with the much younger El Greco, Clovio is considered the best miniaturist and illuminator of the Renaissance, as well as the creator of a new technique where he incorporates the texture and tones of the material – whether paper, parchment or vellum– to apply color in very fine dots that together appear as “a fallen snow over the painting” as described by Francisco de Holanda. He is an important innovator who moves away from the medieval tradition of miniatures, conceiving his illustrations as individual, small format paintings.

King Philip II of Spain had various miniatures by Clovio, who was already admired in Spain from the time of Charles I, both by the monarchs and the members of their court. However, after the Peninsular War, they ended up in French collections. Up until this moment the only known work by Clovio in Spain was a “Holy Family with Saint Elisabeth and Saint John the Baptist” in the Lazaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid.

The Resurrected Christ had been in a private collection in Spain until recently before its acquisition from the donor. Regarding its deposit in the Prado, the director of American Friends of the Prado Museum, Christina Simmons, comments that “we are very thankful to Pilar Conde for her generous gift and it’s a great satisfaction to offer this work of the highest quality in deposit to the Prado Museum.”

Miguel Falomir, Director of the Prado Museum –who considers this work by Giulio Clovio a jewel of the Renaissance for its quality and singularity- thanks American Friends of the Prado Museum and the donor Pilar Conde for their generosity and for reconnecting this work by one of the greatest miniaturist of the 16th century to Spain.

Pilar Conde, pleased to have contributed this work to the Prado collections, comments: “I felt I should donate the work to American Friends of the Prado Museum for the enjoyment of the visitors to the Museum and I hope when the public comes to see the work by Clovio they will enjoy it as much as I have.”

Giulio Clovio (Grižane, Croatia, 1498-Rome, 1578) carried out his artistic career in Italy, primarily in Rome at the service of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. There he came into contact with some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance such as Michelangelo, Rafael Sanzio and Giulio Romano with whom he furthered his artistic education. His friend El Greco paints a large portrait of him which is conserved today in the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte (Naples).

Clovio specializes in illuminated manuscripts –his best work is the Officium Virginis made for Cardinal Farnese (Morgan Library, New York)–, small format paintings, miniatures and drawings. His style is very influenced by his contemporaries, particularly Michelangelo and Rafael. His work moves clearly towards mannerism, visible in his choice of colors, the tendency to distort the human figure and the use of unreal perspectives.