Style of Ambrogio Bergognone
active 1481; died 1523?
Two Panels from an Altarpiece
Oil on poplar
110.5 x 41.9 cm
Layard Bequest, 1916
NG3080
A bearded saint stands reading a book, his left hand resting on a sword, in this quietly contemplative picture. We know, from his dark hair and beard and from the objects he holds, that this is Saint Paul: the sword is the weapon with which he was martyred and the book represents his many writings.
This small panel is one of two in our collection which probably came from the top level of a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece). They were painted in the later years of the fifteenth century by a follower of the great Lombard artists Vincenzo Foppa and Ambrogio Bergognone.
Saint Paul was largely responsible for establishing the Christian Church in the decades after Christ's death. He initially persecuted Christians, but was dramatically converted to the new faith on the road to Ephesus. He wrote a considerable (though debated) number of the books of the New Testament – hence the book he holds here.
A bearded saint stands reading a book, his left hand resting on a sword, in this quietly contemplative picture. From his dark hair and beard and his attributes, we know that this is Saint Paul: the sword is the weapon with which he was martyred and the book represents his many writings.
This small panel is one of two which probably came from the top level of a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) painted in the later years of the fifteenth century by a follower of the great Lombard artists Vincenzo Foppa and Ambrogio Bergognone. Saint Paul here bears some resemblance, particularly in stance and expression, to Foppa's painting of Saint Theodore in the Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan, although Theodore's staff has been swapped for a sword. Like the figure in Foppa's work, Saint Paul may well have originally stood against a gilded background in an arched frame; the black overpaint is a later addition.
Saint Paul was one of the most important of the apostles and was largely responsible for establishing the Christian Church in the decades after Christ's death. He came from a devout Jewish family from Tarsus on the Mediterranean, part of the Roman Empire. The saint initially persecuted Christian converts but was dramatically converted to the new faith on the road to Ephesus (as shown in The Conversion of Saint Paul). He became the most important promoter of Christianity, writing a considerable (though debated) number of the books of the New Testament – hence the book in his hand.
After several missionary journeys to found churches in Asia Minor and Europe, he was eventually arrested at the instigation of the Jews of Jerusalem, who accused him of teachings against Jewish law. As a Roman citizen, he appealed to the emperor and was sent to Rome, but was executed on the orders of the Emperor Nero.
Two small saints – Saint Paul, with a sword and book, and a bishop saint, perhaps Saint Ambrose, in richly coloured and gilded robes – stand against dark backgrounds. The angle at which they are shown makes it clear they were intended to be seen from below: both probably came from the top row of a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece).
We do not know who the artist was, but the style of the panels links them to the work of two important north Italian painters of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries: Vincenzo Foppa and Ambrogio Bergognone. They must have been made by a less talented follower of these Lombard painters, probably in around 1480 to 1500.
Two small saints – Saint Paul, with a sword and book, and a bishop saint, perhaps Saint Ambrose, in richly coloured and gilded robes – stand against dark backgrounds. The angle at which they are shown makes it clear they were intended to be seen from below: both probably came from top row of a polyptych.
This kind of altarpiece continued to be popular in provincial Italy even after the invention of the pala, where the composition is shown on a single unified surface. It would have had a number of saints standing in different panels around a larger central image, probably of the Virgin and Child. In the early Renaissance the backgrounds behind the saints were usually burnished gold; here they are simply painted black, rather than being set in a landscape or classical frame, as is often seen in late fifteenth-century paintings.
We do not know who the artist was, but the style of the panels links them to the work of both Ambrogio Bergognone and Vincenzo Foppa. They must have been painted by a less talented follower of either artist, and are quite similar, although less finely painted, to Foppa's Saint Augustine and Saint Theodore (Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco, Milan). The pictures are painted on poplar, the usual wood for Italian paintings, covered with fabric, as was quite common.
A bearded saint stands reading a book, his left hand resting on a sword, in this quietly contemplative picture. We know, from his dark hair and beard and from the objects he holds, that this is Saint Paul: the sword is the weapon with which he was martyred and the book represents his many writing...
Saint Ambrose (?)
An elderly, bearded saint, wearing a bishop's mitre and holding a book and a crosier, gazes directly, almost challengingly, out at us. We are not sure exactly who he is. He has traditionally been identified as Saint Ambrose, the fourth-century patron of Milan, but he lacks the saint's traditional...
Christ carrying the Cross
Ambrogio Bergognone
Christ, barefoot and weeping but dressed in rich red and blue, is bent under the weight of the Cross. The spikes of the crown of thorns dig into his flesh, and crystal tears drip down his cheeks. He is dragging the Cross to his own crucifixion.The setting is not first-century Palestine, but Renai...
The Agony in the Garden
Christ kneels in prayer. He gazes up at an angel, who presents him with a chalice containing the instruments of the Passion (Christ's torture and crucifixion). To the right, in a walled garden, three of the apostles sleep while a group of soldiers, led by Judas, peer furtively through an arched g...
The Virgin Mary stands behind a stone parapet, supporting her infant son with one hand; Christ balances on a green cloth lying over the sill. In the background you can see monks in white habits strolling in the grounds of a large church – one is accompanied by a layman and his dog.The monks are C...
We are clearly looking into heaven in this large painting. The Virgin Mary sits on a carved and gilded throne, the Christ Child standing on her lap. They are flanked by Saints Catherine of Alexandria, dressed as a princess, and Catherine of Siena in the habit of a Dominican nun. The figures are l...