Title

Invention of the Cross

painter

Ávila, Lorenzo de (Ávila, ca. 1492 - Toro, ca. 1570)

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

The museum attributed these panels to the "Southern Netherlands School"; however, Fiz Fuertes (2023) argues that their author is Lorenzo de Ávila. Consequently, the panel would originate from the present-day province of Zamora. Although the details of the painting and the landscape suggest a Flemish work, Fiz Fuertes (2003) has demonstrated that these are also techniques used by workshops in Toro (Zamora). Its original location is unknown, but in the early 20th century, the panel left Spain and ended up in the private collection of Delporte-Livrauw and Dr. Franz Delporte. In 1973, they bequeathed this painting, along with others, to the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, where it is currently housed.

Description

The scene depicts the Discovery of the True Cross. This painting was created during the mature period of Lorenzo de Ávila, a phase in which he stylised his figures, introduced more vibrant colours into his compositions, and gave greater prominence to the landscape. He also included numerous secondary characters in the background, a technique he would expand upon in the second half of the 1540s (Fiz Fuertes, 2003; 2023). This panel was likely part of the same altarpiece as another painting by Lorenzo de Ávila housed in the museum, The Adoration of the Magi.

Locations

• ca. 1540 - Early XX^th c.

  province

  Zamora, Zamora (Spain)

• Early XX^th c. - Third quarter of the XX^th c.

  private collection

  Delporte-Livrauw y Dr. Franz Delporte, Brussels (Belgium) *

• ca. 1973 - present

  museum

  Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Belgium, Brussels (Belgium)