Christ at the Column

Christ at the Column is an oil painting on canvas (140x106 cm). Already at the Palazzo Camuccini in Cantalupo in Sabina, in the province of Rieti, the painting then, in the seventies, changed ownership and location. The latter is unknown.

The attribution of the work is uncertain. For part of the criticism it is a copy from a lost original by Caravaggio. Thus, for everyone, the Longhi, who first published the painting. Longhi hypothesizes that it is a copy, of very high quality, made by Vincenzo Camuccini. For other authors, albeit doubtfully, it could be a work by Merisi. So Maurizio Marini.

The date of execution of the original painting is also doubtful, whether or not it is the one already in Cantalupo: the predominant hypothesis seems to be that of the late sixteenth century, but there are postponements to the first Neapolitan Period of Caravaggio (1606-7).

There are two other versions of the painting, unanimously considered copies: one is located in Catania and is attributed to the Sicilian Caravaggio Mario Minniti, the second is located in Macerata.