This picture was ordered of Perugino by the testamentary executors of Giovanni Schiavone, a master carpenter of Perugia, in 1507, and was executed within that year, when it was placed over the altar of their chapel in S. Maria Nuova (de' Servi) in an elaborate carved but ungilt framework, said to be designed by Pietro himself. After the demise of the executors and their heirs the chapel reverted to the Frati Serviti, owners of the church, who subsequently sold the chapel with its contents to the Cecconi family, at whose extinction it was inherited by the family della Penna.
In 1822 Baron Fabrizio della Penna removed the picture to his palace in Perugia, leaving the frame in situ, in which at the same time was inserted a copy on canvas executed by a young Perugian painter, Giuseppe Carattoli.
The picture was purchased for the National Gallery from the Baron della Penna in 1879.
The Baptism of Our Lord. Panel, 1·0 × 1·11. [1431.]
St. John the Baptist in the centre of the picture is pouring water from a cup on the head of the Saviour, who stands with His feet in the river. Two angels kneel to the right and two to the left, and behind them again stand four of the disciples, two on either side.
See [Chapter I.] as to this picture, which I cannot accept as a work of Perugino. It is painted in oil upon an unprepared panel.
Bought in Rome in 1894 for £400.
The Adoration of the Shepherds. Fresco transferred to canvas. 8·2 x 19·5. [1441.]
In the centre the infant Christ lies, supported by a cushion on a purple drapery on the open ground. Behind is a shed surrounded by a fence, within which cattle are lying. On the right and left kneel the Holy Virgin and St. Joseph, and behind them the shepherds approach with offerings. An angel is on either side in the sky.
This fresco was removed from the church at Fontignano in 1843, and is said to be the last work of the painter.