Elijah in the Desert

Elijah in the Desert is a 1543-1547 oil on panel painting by Daniele da Volterra. With Massacre of the Innocents and Madonna and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist and Saint Barbara, it is one of a number of paintings by the artist now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.[1]

Elijah in the Desert (1543-1547) by Daniele da Volterra

History

The work shows the influence of Michelangelo's work on the artist, especially the Sistine Chapel and Last Judgement. It shows the prophet Elijah reflecting on the bread brought to him by a raven and on a vine branch, interpreted in Christian theology as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.[2]

According to Benedetto Falconcini's Elogio, this work and Madonna and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist and Saint Barbara were in the artist's descendants' home in Volterra in 1772, before both passing by descent to the Pannocchieschi counts of Elci together with Madonna and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist and Saint Barbara. An export ban was placed on the work in 1979 and it was acquired by the Italian state in 2018[3]

References
  1. "Uffizi, acquisita opera Daniele Volterra - Toscana" (in Italian). ANSA.it. 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  2. "Daniele da Volterra: i dipinti d'Elci in mostra alla Galleria Corsini" (in Italian). www.finestresullarte.info. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  3. "Acquisitions of the month: July 2018 - Apollo Magazine". Apollo Magazine. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-08-29.

Bibliography
  • (in Italian) Roberto Paolo Ciardi and Benedetta Moreschini, Daniele Ricciarelli. Da Volterra a Roma, Volterra, Cassa di risparmio di Volterra, 2004.
  • Paul Barolsky, Daniele Da Volterra: A Catalogue RaisonnĂ©, Garland Publishing, 1979.
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