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Set in Stone

Signing Carlo Crivelli of Venice

Amanda Hilliam    National Gallery of London; Oxford Brookes University, UK    

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abstract

This article explores how and why the fifteenth-century Venetian painter, Carlo Crivelli (1430/5-c. 1494), signed his pictures. Until recently, Crivelli’s work has received comparatively little critical attention; this is ironic given that he was acutely aware of his reputation and artistic legacy, an awareness that is expressed through his signatures. Whether carved into fractured stone, or emblazoned in gold on an affixed label, Crivelli’s signatures contemplate his role as a creator of religious images that would outlive him. While the carved inscription signifies permanence and durability, labels, sometimes crumpled and appearing as if about to fall away, suggest transience and ephemerality.

Published
Dec. 20, 2017
Accepted
Sept. 21, 2017
Submitted
July 17, 2017
Language
EN

Keywords: PermanenceDevotionMemorialParapetIllusion

Copyright: © 2017 Amanda Hilliam. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.