# Predella

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Predella
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Predella.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predella
> Source revision: 1346930378
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Lower part of some altarpieces}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2021}}

[[Image:Carlo Crivelli 023.jpg|thumb|[Altarpiece](/source/Altarpiece) by [Carlo Crivelli](/source/Carlo_Crivelli), 1468. The predella has four scenes from the [Passion of Christ](/source/Passion_of_Christ). The predella runs along the base, framed below]]
[[Image:Stralsund, Germany, Marienkirche, Marienkrönungsaltar, Predella (2006-09-15).JPG|thumb|[Altarpiece](/source/Altarpiece) with carved and painted predella at [Marienkirche](/source/St._Mary's_church%2C_Stralsund) [Stralsund](/source/Stralsund), Germany.]]
In art, a '''predella''' (plural '''predelle''') is the lowest part of an [altarpiece](/source/altarpiece), sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but often (especially in earlier examples), a [polyptych](/source/polyptych) or multipanel altarpiece.<ref>Osborne, 923</ref>  In late medieval and [Renaissance](/source/Renaissance_art) altarpieces, where the main panel consisted of a scene with large figures, it was normal to include a predella below with a number of small-scale narrative paintings depicting events from the life of the dedicatee, whether the [''Life of Christ''](/source/Life_of_Christ_in_art), the ''[Life of the Virgin](/source/Life_of_the_Virgin)'' or a [saint](/source/saint).  Typically there would be three to five small scenes, in a horizontal format. Sometimes a single space shows different scenes in [continuous representation](/source/continuous_representation).<ref>Lucie-Smith, 174 </ref>
thumb|Flemish altarpiece of the 1550s, still with three predella scenes

They are significant in [art history](/source/art_history), as the artist had more freedom from [iconographic conventions](/source/iconography) than in the main panel as they could only be seen from close up.  As the main panels themselves became larger and more dramatic, predellas fell from use around 1510-20 in the [High Renaissance](/source/High_Renaissance), although older or more conservative painters continued to use them, for example [Luca Signorelli](/source/Luca_Signorelli), by then in his 70s, in about 1521.  In this case he is thought to have only done the [underdrawing](/source/underdrawing) for the main scene, leaving the painting to his workshop assistants. But he is thought to have painted the predella scenes himself.<ref>[https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6350122?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intobjectid=6350122&from=salessummary&lid=1 ''The Massacre of the Innocents with the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi - panel from a predella''], [Christie's](/source/Christie's), Live Auction 20055, Lot 22, December 2021</ref>  

They had fallen out of fashion in Italy by the mid 16th century, but continued for a while further north.  As altarpieces reached the art market from the 18th century onwards, the predella scenes (and other smaller sections) were often detached and sold separately, in effect as [cabinet painting](/source/cabinet_painting)s, and they are now often spread across several museum collections, with their origin often uncertain.  Reuniting, at least conceptually, predella panels with the rest of their original settings gave 20th-century art historians a large task, which continues into the 21st century.   

More generally, and not usually in the English language, a predella is an altar-step, a shelf above and behind an altar, or a piece of furniture with a lower part to kneel on, for prayer, and often a higher part to support the arms.<ref>Osborne, 923</ref> In English the French term [prie-dieu](/source/prie-dieu) is normally used for this.  ''Predel'' or ''pretel'', was [Langobardic](/source/Langobardic) for "a low wooden platform that serves as a basis in a piece of furniture". In English this step is referred to as a [gradin](/source/gradin), which may include a predella in it. A predella is also the lower part of a [stained-glass window](/source/Stained_glass).

Similar small reliefs are sometimes placed under a larger piece of sculpture. [Donatello](/source/Donatello) placed a narrow scene of ''[Saint George Freeing the Princess](/source/Saint_George_Freeing_the_Princess)'' on the base of his [''Saint George''](/source/Saint_George_(Donatello)) for [Orsanmichele](/source/Orsanmichele).

==Examples==
Examples of predellas include:
* [Duccio](/source/Duccio) – the predella of his ''[Maestà](/source/Maest%C3%A0_(Duccio))'' – one of the earliest predellas.
* [Lorenzo Monaco](/source/Lorenzo_Monaco) –  ''Incidents in the Life of Saint Benedict''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG4062 |title=Incidents in the Life of Saint Benedict |website=www.nationalgallery.org.uk |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030420135350/http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG4062 |archive-date=20 April 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ({{Circa|1407–1409}})
* [Luca Signorelli](/source/Luca_Signorelli) – ''[The Adoration of the Shepherds](/source/The_Adoration_of_the_Shepherds)'' ({{Circa|1496}})
* [Andrea Mantegna](/source/Andrea_Mantegna) – ''[San Zeno Altarpiece](/source/San_Zeno_Altarpiece_(Mantegna))'' (1459)
* [Stanley Spencer](/source/Stanley_Spencer) – [Sandham Memorial Chapel](/source/Sandham_Memorial_Chapel), [Burghclere](/source/Burghclere), Hants.
* Pre-Raphaelite [Dante Rossetti](/source/Dante_Rossetti) revisited the predella in his second [Beata Beatrix](/source/Beata_Beatrix) (1871-1872).
* [Leigh Behnke](/source/Leigh_Behnke) – a 20th-century realist, she has made use of the predella format in numerous works (c. 1981–2019)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[Lucie-Smith, Edward](/source/Edward_Lucie-Smith), ''The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms'', 2003 (2nd edn), Thames & Hudson, World of Art series, {{ISBN|0500203652}}
*Osborne, Harold (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to Art'', 1970, OUP, {{ISBN|019866107X}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Predellas}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Altarpieces

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Predella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predella) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predella?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.