Rodrigo de Osona the Elder

These four Passion scenes once formed the predella of a large altarpiece, the central panel of which has not been identified. First attributed to Rodrigo de Osona the Elder by Chandler Post, the paintings remained unpublished until the 2007 exhibition. Osona's one securely dated work, the Calvary altarpiece from the Church of San Nicolás in Valencia from 1476, provides a basis for attributing his other works. The artist is known for introducing both Italian and Flemish influences into the Spanish Renaissance, and he worked closely with his sons in his workshop in Valencia.

Osona's diverse artistic sources can be detected in these four compositions, such as the landscape setting and positions of the apostles in the first panel, which echo the work of Italian painter Paolo de San Leocadio, who was active in Spain. The second panel's interior setting repeats motifs employed in other altarpieces by Osona, such as the Oriental carpet and traditional Valencian flooring that creates one-point perspective. In the second and third panel, the strong folds of the garments reflect Osona's knowledge of sculptor Bartolome Bermejo, and the arrangement of the parading figures in the third panel is inspired by Valencian contemporaries Joan Reixach and the Master of Perea. Finally, the Lamentation panel points to the strong influence of Flemish painting on the Valencian tradition. The complex arrangements and range of textures in these four panels illustrate the eclectic nature of late fifteenth-century Valencian painting, which Osona helped define.