Ecce Agnus Dei - Giovanni di Paolo

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

"Ecce Agnus Dei" by Giovanni di Paolo (1455–60) Tempera on panel.

Commentary

"Ecce Agnus Dei" by Giovanni di Paolo (1455–60) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone. Themes to notice include Renaissance, painting. This piece is held in the source collection's Painting and Sculpture of Europe collection. Giovanni di Paolo is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Giovanni di Paolo (Italian, 1398–1482). The work is cataloged within a Italy cultural context. It is associated with the Renaissance period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as painting, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Tempera on panel) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (68.5 × 39.5 cm (27 × 15 1/2 in.); Framed: 80.1 × 53.4 × 8.9 cm (31 1/2 × 21 × 3 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include Renaissance, painting. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16159

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data