Three Crosses

Of the Florentine artist Bernardino Barbatelli (1548-1612), called 'Il Poccetti', a specialist for the painting of façades, only two printed subjects are known: the present one of the ’Three Crosses' and another of ‘The Road to Calvary’. In the early sources, his activity as a printmaker was not known and impressions of his prints are extremely rare, perhaps an indication of the artist's private and purely experimental approach to printmaking. The present etching is so free in its manner and technical execution, that it is very unlikely to have been made for a wider audience or for devotional purposes. Rather, it is a work of astonishing artistic expression and testament to the force of the artist’s imagination, his seemingly instinctual understanding of the medium and his compositional skills, which enabled him to create this dramatic account of the central moment in the Christian narrative, full of movement and intense contrasts. With its densely interspersed scenes and daringly expressive chiaroscuro, it is arguably the most engaging print of the Crucifixion before Rembrandt’s more famous and monumental ‘Three Crosses’.
A pen and ink-drawing in the British Museum (inv. no. SL,5226.106), previously attributed to Camillo Procaccini (1561-1629), has now been recognised as Poccetti's own preparatory drawing for the print. In the process of translating the composition into an etching, the artist made some changes, for example in the bareheaded soldier at left, who shows some pentimenti on his neck, and in the drawing is wearing a helmet.
We could trace only four impressions of this print in major public collections: British Museum, London (inv. no. 1871,1111.796); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (acc. no. 1971.766); Metropolitan Museum, New York (obj. no. 49.49.44; not ill.); Hamburger Kunsthalle, Kupferstichkabinett (inv. no. 1394). An additional impression was sold at Christie's London on 3 December 2014 (lot 46; for GBP 27,500). The present example is printed more evenly and with stronger contrasts.

The Pontifical Scots College in Rome (‘Pontificio Collegio Scozzese’) was founded on 5 December 1600 by Pope Clement VIII. In its initial years, the College provided an education for young Scottish Catholic men who, due to the laws against Catholics, could not receive a Catholic education at home. Inspired by St John Ogilvie, the sixteen students studying at the College vowed on 10 March 1616, one year to the day after his martyrdom, to return to Scotland as priests; thus the College became a seminary and has been preparing men for the priesthood and for service in the Church's mission in Scotland ever since.
At first the College was situated in a little house on what is known today as Via del Tritone, opposite the church of Santa Maria in Costantinopoli, but as early as 1604 was transferred to Via Felice, now called Via delle Quattro Fontane, and there it remained until 1962. Two years later, the College moved into purpose-built, modern premises on the outskirts of Rome, on Via Cassia. The building was closed in 2023 and the College is temporarily residing at the Pontifical Beda College.
It was through Dr Alexander Grant, rector of the College from 1846-1878, that a collection of prints came into the College’s possession. A substantial part of the holdings, including many of the most notable works, were sold in the late 1960s. The present selection is being offered for sale to commission a contemporary work of art, once a new and permanent home for the seminary has been found, to commemorate this significant moment in the history of the Scots College in Rome, a history that spans from 1600 to the present day.