ROBERTI, Ercole de'
(b. 1456, Ferrara, d. 1496, Ferrara)

Predella of Stories of Christ: 2. Pietà

1482
Oil on wood, 33 x 30 cm
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

The predella of the main altarpiece of the church of San Giovanni di Monte in Bologna consisted of three pieces, the Prayer in the Garden, and the Road to Calvary at the sides and a Pietà in the middle.

The painting invokes a motif of Rogier van der Weyden and is an example of melting together the Flemish and Italian (Mantegna, Tura, Giovanni Bellini) approches to express religious feelings.