Benedetto Nucci was documented in 1536 when, at the age of 20, he was apprenticed at Fano to Giuliano Presutti.  He had probably been born at nearby Cagli.  He married the daughter of another artist, Pietro Paolo Baldinacci, in 1549, and might well have begun his training in his workshop.  He made a will in favour of his son, Virgilio Nucci in 1596.

Gubbio

Adoration of the Cross (1540)

This altarpiece in the ex-refectory of San Francesco, which is dated by inscription, is the earliest known work to be signed by Benedetto Nucci.  It was documented in the apse of the church in 1923.  It was designed to form the backdrop to a wooden crucifix, and depicts the standing Virgin and St John the Evangelist and the kneeling St Francis.

Works in the Duomo

The following works in the Duomo are by or attributed to Benedetto Nucci.

Organ Casing (1548-51)

1. ✴Giacomo and Girolamo Maffei received payments for the organ casing and associated choir in 1548-51.  
   

2. ✴Pietro Paolo Baldinacci and Benedetto Nucci are documented in relation to its painted panels (ca. 1549).  These are probably:
   

3. • those in the cimasa, which depict the arms of Bishop Marcello Corvino and two reclining angels; and
   

4. •those at the bases of the columns to the sides of the organ, each of which depicts a personification of a Virtue.
   

The organ by Lesichius no longer survives: Bishop Vincenzo Massi commissioned the present organ from Angelo Morettini in 1833. 

Choirs under the Organ Casings

Canon Alessandro Zeccadoro commissioned from “mastro Perino” seven sculpted figures personifying the Liberal Arts for the organ casing.  These figures no longer survive, but they were probably originally in the choir under the casing on the right (by Giacomo and Girolamo Maffei) illustrated above: they seem to be depicted in this position in the fresco (1654-8) of Bishop Sperelli’s consecration of the Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento, which is in the lunette on the left wall of that chapel. 

1. ✴If this hypothesis is correct, the present painted panels in the right choir must have been reused from another location. 
   

2. ✴Similarly, if (as seems likely) the choir on the left is a 19th century replica of that on the right, its painted panels must have been similarly reused.
   

The present panels (16th century) in both choirs are attributed to Benedetto Nucci.

Seats of the Magistrates (ca. 1555)

These seats (under the organ on the left) might well have been begun as part of the work for which Giacomo and Girolamo Maffei were paid 0n 1548-51.  However, they bear the arms of Bishop Giacomo Savelli (1555-61), which suggests that they were completed soon after 1555.  They contain fictive intarsia panels (1557) that are signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription (on  the 7th seat on the right).

Madonna and Child with saints (1570)

Incredulity of St Thomas (1589)

St Ubaldus (ca. 1590)

Works in the Pinacoteca Civica

The following works in the Pinacoteca Civica are by or attributed to Benedetto Nucci.

Discovery of the True Cross (1562)

This altarpiece came from Santa Croce del Mercato.  The inscription records the artist, Benedetto Nucci and the name of the Camaldolesian monk who commissioned it, Francesco Gaugello. The date was assigned by a local historian in the 19th century, perhaps on the basis of a lost document or inscription.  The altarpiece depicts St Helen finding the remains of the True Cross in Jerusalem. 

Pentecost (1563)

Tree of Jesse (1570)

Sister Settimia degli Accoromboni of the Monastero di San Benedetto commissioned this altarpiece, which is attributed to Benedetto Nucci.   [Dated by inscription ?]  It is now in the Pinacoteca Comunale.

Burial of Christ (16th century)

This altarpiece is attributed to Benedetto Nucci: it is a copy of an altarpiece in SS Trinità (below) that is signed by this artist and dated by inscription to 1562.

Baptism of St Augustine (1550)

This altarpiece, which is signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription, was stolen in 1984 from Sant’ Ambrogio.  It was moved [where??] to San Secondo after its recovery in 1989.  It depicts St Ambrose christening St Augustine,  whose mother, St Monica, kneels on the left.   The kneeling figure on the right is probably the Blessed Arcangelo Canetoli.

Madonna and Child with saints (1553)

This altarpiece on the high altar San Marziale is signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription.  It depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with the young St John the Baptist.  SS Andrew and Martial stand to the sides and two angels hold a crown above the head of the Madonna.

Burial of Christ (1562)

This lunette-shaped panel in the choir of SS Trinità, which is signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription, depicts the moment when the body of Christ was placed in the coffin.  Nicodemus holds the head of Christ, St Mary Magdalene and the Virgin each holds one of His hands, and the scene is witnessed by St John the Evangelist, two pious women and Joseph of Arimithea.  A copy of this panel in the Pinacoteca Civica (above) is also attributed to Benedetto Nucci.

Coronation of the Virgin and saints (1569)

This altarpiece in the ex Chapter Room of San Pietro was originally signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription, but this has been obscured by over-painting.  It retains an inscription that identifies its commissioner, “Donna Magdalena de Tomasuccis”.   It depicts St Peter (wearing a papal crown) and St Ubaldus, each of whom kneels on a balcony and contemplates the Coronation of the Virgin above.

SS Lucy and Barbara (1578)

Holy Family with St Catherine (1583)

This panel in the Monastero delle Cappuccine is signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription.  It is a copy of a panel (1533) by Lorenzo Lotto that is now in the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.

Madonna and Child with saints (1589)

This altarpiece in the ex Chapter Room of San Pietro is signed by Benedetto Nucci and dated by inscription.  It depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned, with two angels to the sides and three saints below: St Laurence; St Romuald (identified by inscription); and an unidentified saint.

Triptych (16th century)

Madonna and Child with saints (1495) - Repainting

This fresco by Bernardino di Nanni dell’ Eugenia in the lunette above the main entrance to Palazzo dei Consoli depicts the Madonna and Child with SS John the Baptist and Ubaldus.  [The date is written in the vernacular]  Benedetto Nucci repainted it in the 16th century