11 Icons, Scenes from the Bible, with footnotes, #11

PETER PAUL RUBENS (CIRCLE) Siegen 1577 - 1640 Antwerp 

THE MADONNA AND CHILD

Oil on panel

50 cm by 38.5 cm

Private collection

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

In addition to running a large studio in Antwerp that produced paintings popular with nobility and art collectors throughout Europe, Rubens was a classically educated humanist scholar and diplomat who was knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England. More Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Central Italian School, 16th Century

THE MYSTIC MARRIAGE OF SAINT CATHERINE

Oil on panel

70 x 53.5 cm.; 27 1/2  x 21 in.

Private collection

This Renaissance panel depicting the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine has thus far eluded secure attribution. The high cheek bones of the female figures' graceful physiognomies imply that the work was evidently painted by an artist closely aware of the work of Pietro Perugino, probably in central Italy, but the lively figure of Joseph also pays homage to Filippino Lippi. More about this Icon

Ambrogio Bergognone

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena, circa 1490

Oil on poplar wood

187.5 × 129.5 cm (73.8 × 51 in)

National Gallery

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine covers two different subjects in Christian art arising from visions received by either Saint Catherine of Alexandria or Saint Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), in which these virgin saints went through a mystical marriage wedding ceremony with Christ, in the presence of the Virgin Mary, consecrating themselves and their virginity to him.

The Catholic Encyclopaedia notes that such a wedding ceremony "is but the accompaniment and symbol of a purely spiritual grace", and that "as a wife should share in the life of her husband, and as Christ suffered for the redemption of mankind, the mystical spouse enters into a more intimate participation in His sufferings."  Catherine of Alexandria was martyred, while Catherine of Siena received the stigmata.

Both Saint Catherines are frequent subjects in Christian art; the scene usually includes one of the Saint Catherines and either the infant Jesus held by his mother or an adult Jesus. Very rarely both saints are shown in a double ceremony (as above). Saint Catherine of Alexandria is invariably dressed as a princess in rich clothes, often with a crown, and normally with loose long blonde hair and carrying a martyr's palm, sometimes with her attribute of a wheel; Saint Catherine of Siena is shown as a Dominican nun in white with a black over-robe open at the front, so it is usually easy to tell which saint is depicted. More Saint Catherine

Ambrogio Borgognone (variously known as Ambrogio da Fossano, Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano, Ambrogio Stefani da Fossano or as il Bergognone or Ambrogio Egogni c. 1470s – 1523/1524) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period active in and near Milan.

While he was nearly contemporary with Leonardo da Vinci, he painted in a style more akin to the pre-Renaissance. The dates of his birth and death are unknown; he is said to have been born at Fossano in Piedmont and his appellation attributed to his artistic affiliation with the Burgundian school.

Ambrogio Bergognone

Madonna and Child, from 1488 until 1490

Oil on poplar wood

55.2 × 35.6 cm (21.7 × 14 in)

National Gallery

His fame is principally associated with his work at the Certosa di Pavia complex, composed of the church and convent of the Carthusians. Only one known picture, an altar-piece at the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, can with probability be assigned to a period of his career earlier than 1486.

For two years after his return to Milan he worked at the church of San Satiro. From 1497 he was engaged in decorating with paintings the church of the Incoronata. Documentation of him thenceforth is scant. In 1508 he painted for a church in Bergamo; in 1512, his signature appears in a public document of Milan; in 1524 - and this is our last authentic record - he painted a series of frescoes illustrating the life of St. Sisinius in the portico of San Simpliciano at Milan.individuality. He holds an interesting place in the most interesting period of Italian art.

But to judge of his real powers and peculiar ideals, his system of faint and clear coloring, whether in fresco, tempera or oil; his somewhat slender and pallid types, not without something that reminds us of northern art in their Teutonic sentimentality as well as their fidelity of portraiture. More Ambrogio Borgognone

ITALIAN/BYZANTINE SCHOOL 17/18th ct. 

CAMBRAI-MADONNA 

Oil on copper 

35.5 cm by 26 cm.

Private collection

The Cambrai Madonna (or Notre-Dame de Grace) is a small c 1340 Italo-Byzantine, possibly Sienese, replica of an Eleusa (Virgin of Tenderness) icon (below). The work on which it is based is believed to have originated in Tuscany c. 1300, and influenced a wide number of paintings from the following century as well as Florentine sculptures from the 1440–1450s. This version was in turn widely copied across Italy and northern Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries; Filippo Lippi's 1447 The Madonna and Child Enthroned is a well known example.

Unknown

 Icon of the Virgin Eleousa, mid-14th c

Venice

When in 1450 the painting was brought to Cambrai, then part of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy and now in France, it was believed an original by Saint Luke, patron saint of artists, for which Mary herself had sat as model. Thus it was treated as a relic; God bestowing miracles on those that travelled to view it.

Unknown

Cambrai Madonna, circa 1340

Italo-Byzantine, possibly Sienese

Replica of an Eleusa icon.

Private collection

The work is significant beyond its aesthetic value: it serves as a bridge between the Byzantine icon tradition and the Italian Quattrocento, and inspired the work of 15th-century Netherlandish artists. After the Ottoman Turks had conquered Constantinople, copies of the painting were commissioned in the Low Countries in support of Philip the Good's projected crusade, announced at the Feast of the Pheasant but never launched. More The Cambrai Madonna

Master of the Osservanza, ACTIVE IN SIENA DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE 15TH CENTURY

THE FLAGELLATION, c. 1441

Tempera and gold on poplar panel

45 x 30.5 cm.; 17 ¾  x 12 in

Private collection

The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross, and a Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. The column to which Christ is normally tied, and the rope, scourge, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome, claimed to possess the original column. More

The Master of the Osservanza Triptych, also known as the Osservanza Master and as the Master of Osservanza, is the name given to an Italian painter of the Sienese School active about 1430 to 1450.

Research in 2010 by Maria Falcone in Siena has revealed the name of the Master to be Sano di Pietro. Falcone found a document about an altarpiece by the “Master of Osservanza” for a church in Asciano, just outside Siena, which was actually under the bishopric of Arezzo. The priest of the church in Asciano did not pay the painter and therefore the city government of Siena had to make an appeal to the bishop in Arezzo to force the priest from his district to pay the artist. The artist’s name was included on the document as Sano di Pietro. More The Master of the Osservanza

Sano di Pietro, or Ansano di Pietro di Mencio (1406–1481) was an Italian painter of the Sienese school of painting. His career spanned from the end of the Trecento period into the Quattrocento period. His contemporaries included Giovanni di Paolo and Sassetta. 

Sano was born in 1406. His name enters the roll of painters in 1428 where it remained until his death in 1481. In addition to his own painting and overseeing the pupils and assistants in his workshop, he was also part of the civic fabric of Siena. There are city records showing his participation. In 1431 and 1442 he was the leader of the San Donato district of Siena (1). Sano was also employed as an arbitrator; in 1475 he was called upon to settle a dispute between fellow painters Neroccio di Bartolommeo and Francesco di Giorgio Martini (2).

It was, however, as a painter that he made his living. The workshop he ran produced huge number of artworks. Sano himself is quite interesting. He wasn't merely a painter of altar pieces. He also produced frescoes, miniatures, and book bindings. Book bindings are exquisite little paintings that went on the spine of a book. After a long and successful career Sano died in 1481. More Sano di Pietro 

Bicci di Lorenzo, FLORENCE 1373 - 1452

THE NATIVITY, c. 1423

Tempera on poplar panel, gold ground

88 x 58 cm.; 34 5/8  x 22 7/8  in.

Private collection

Bicci revisited the theme of the Nativity numerous times, always varying the poses of his figures in subtle ways.3 The design of this Nativity is most closely comparable to the central predella panel of the triptych in Sant’Ippolito, Bibbiena (Casentino), dated 1435, one of very few of Bicci’s compositions to position the manger parallel with the stable, rather than at an oblique angle. More

The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the time of Herod the Great to a betrothed virgin whose name was Mary. There are, however, major differences. Matthew has no census, annunciation to the shepherds or presentation in the Temple, implies that Jesus's parents' home is Bethlehem, and has him born in a house there, and has an unnamed angel appear to Joseph to announce the birth. In Luke there are no Magi, no flight into Egypt, or Massacre of the Innocents, Joseph is a resident of Nazareth, the birth appears to take place in an inn instead of the family home, and the angel (named as Gabriel) announces the coming birth to Mary. While it is possible that Matthew's account might be based on Luke or Luke's on Matthew, the majority of scholars conclude that the two are independent of each other.

In Christian theology the nativity marks the incarnation of Jesus as the second Adam, in fulfillment of the divine will of God, undoing the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. The artistic depiction of the nativity has been a major subject for Christian artists since the 4th century. Since the 13th century, the nativity scene has emphasized the humility of Jesus and promoted a more tender image of him, as a major turning point from the early "Lord and Master" image, affecting the basic approaches of Christian pastoral ministry. More

Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in the Guild of Painters at Florence. His son, Neri di Bicci was also a painter and took over the family workshop. Bicci di Lorenzo died in Florence in 1452 and was buried in Santa Maria del Carmine.

Following early work – largely frescoes – in collaboration with his father, he received a number of important commissions. Among his major works are an Enthroned Madonna; the Three Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas, and a Nativity in the church of San Giovannino dei Cavalieri in Florence. More Bicci di Lorenzo

13th Century Icon of Saint Panteleimon b. XIII c.

including scenes from his life

Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

St Pantaleon (c. 275 Nicomedia, Died 305 Nicomedia) came from Nicomedia, near the Black Sea, in Asia. He was such a famous doctor that the Emperor himself chose him for his own doctor. Pantaleon was a Christian, but the bad influence from the pagan court caused him to give up his Christian faith entirely.

A holy priest named Hermolaos made him realize what a sin he had committed. Pantaleon listened to him, detested his sin and joined the Church once more. To make up for what he had done, he greatly desired to suffer and die for Jesus. In the meantime, he imitated Our Lord's charity by taking care of poor sick people without any charge for his medical services.

When the Emperor Diocletian began his persecution, Pantaleon at once gave away everything he owned to the poor. Not long afterwards, he was accused of being a Christian. He was given the choice of denying his Faith or being put to death. No torture could force Pantaleon to deny his Faith.

There has been strong devotion in past ages to this Saint. In the East he is called the "Great Martyr and Wonder-worker."  More

16th century work by an anonymous artist from Toledo

The Martyrdom of Saint Agathius

Martirio de San Acacio

 From Tryptich, Center Panel

111 x 82 cm

 Museo del Prado. Madrid.

Saint Agathius (died 303), also known as Achatius or Agathonas or Acacius of Byzantium, according to Christian tradition, was a Cappadocian Greek centurion of the imperial army, martyred around 304.

He was arrested for his faith on charges for being a Christian by Tribune Firmus in Perinthus, Thrace, tortured, and then brought to Byzantium (the later Constantinople), where he was scourged and beheaded, being made a martyr because he would not give up his Christian Faith. More Saint Agathius

ANTWERP SCHOOL Circa 1520/1550

ADORATION OF THE MAGI

Oil on oak panel, cradled and rounded top

89.5 cm by 57 cm 

Private collection

The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. More The Adoration of the Magi

The Antwerp School is a term for the artists active in Antwerp, first during the 16th century when the city was the economic center of the Low Countries, and then during the 17th century when it became the artistic stronghold of the Flemish Baroque under Peter Paul Rubens.

Antwerp took over from Bruges as the main trading and commercial center of the Low Countries around 1500. Painters, artists and craftsmen joined the Guild of Saint Luke, which educated apprentices and guaranteed quality.  More Ecole Anversoise

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18 Paintings, Stories from the Bible, as interpreted by Rosso Fiorentino, Pietro della Vecchia, Luca Giordano, Johann Carl Loth, Francesco Ruschi, Valentin de Boulogne, Vincente Macip, Vincente Macip, Martin Schongauer, Barend van Orley, Daniele da Volterra, Francesco Raibolini, Andrea Meldolla, Pietro Testa and Pieter Brueghel, with footnotes #37

Rosso Fiorentino

Pietà, c. 1537 - 1540

Oil on wood transferred to canvas

125 x 159 cm

Louvre Museum

The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ. When Christ and the Virgin are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament, the subject is strictly called a Lamentation in English, although Pietà is often used for this as well, and is the normal term in Italian. More on The Pietà

Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "red Florentine" in Italian), or Il Rosso, was an Italian Mannerist painter, in oil and fresco, belonging to the Florentine school.

Born in Florence with the red hair that gave him his nickname, Rosso first trained in the studio of Andrea del Sarto alongside his contemporary, Pontormo. In late 1523, Rosso moved to Rome, where he was exposed to the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, and other Renaissance artists, resulting in the realignment of his artistic style.

Fleeing Rome after the Sacking of 1527, Rosso eventually went to France where he secured a position at the court of Francis I in 1530, remaining there until his death. Together with Francesco Primaticcio, Rosso was one of the leading artists to work at the Chateau Fontainebleau as part of the "First School of Fontainebleau", spending much of his life there. Following his death in 1540  Francesco Primaticcio took charge of the artistic direction at Fontainebleau.

Rosso's reputation, along those of other stylized late Renaissance Florentines, was long out of favour in comparison to other more naturalistic and graceful contemporaries, but has revived considerably in recent decades. That his masterpiece is in a small city, away from the tourist track, was a factor in this, especially before the arrival of photography. His poses are certainly contorted, and his figures often appear haggard and thin, but his work has considerable power. More on Giovanni Battista di Jacopo

Pietro della Vecchia, VENICE OR VICENZA 1602/3 - 1678 VENICE

JOSEPH'S BROTHERS RETURNING HIS BLOODIED TUNIC TO THEIR FATHER

Oil on canvas

133 x 167 cm.; 52 1/4  x 65 3/4  in.

Private Collection

Sold for 13,750 GBP in December 2016

Joseph is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis and also in the Quran as well as the Book of Mormon. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, he rose to become vizier, the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, where his presence and office caused Israel to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt. The composition of the story can be dated to the period between the 7th century BCE and the third quarter of the 5th century BCE, which is roughly the period to which scholars date the Book of Genesis.

Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben, who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself. Unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed his first. Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants. Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat  and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph dead. More on Joseph

Pietro della Vecchia (1602/03-1678), also known as Pietro Muttoni or Pietro della Vecchia Muttoni, was the son of a prominent Venetian family. His early works are deeply influenced by Carlo Saraceni and his student, which has led to the assumption that the painter may has initially been trained by them. After a possible short stay in Rome around 1621-22, he was active in the studio of Alessandro Varotari, called Padovanino, around 1625 and first familiarized with the masters of the Venetian Cinquecento, such as Titian and Giorgione. Many works by the artist can be still found in churches in Venice, as well as in important international collections, such as the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Louvre in Paris, the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden and the National Gallery in Dublin. More on Pietro della Vecchia

Follower of Luca Giordano, called Fa Presto, NAPLES 1634 - 1705

THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE

Oil on canvas

40.8 x 51.2 cm.; 16 x 20 1/8  in.

Private Collection

Sold for 1,625 GBP in December 2016

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, according to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son. Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb), sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Leviticus indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas. More on The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple

Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 12 January 1705) was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain.

Born in Naples, Giordano was the son of the painter Antonio Giordano. In around 1650 he was apprenticed to Ribera, and his early work was heavily influenced by his teacher. Like Ribera, he painted many half-length figures of philosophers, either imaginary portraits of specific figures, or generic types.

He acquired the nickname Luca fa presto, which translates into "Luca paints quickly." His speed, in design as well as handiwork, and his versatility, which enabled him to imitate other painters deceptively, earned for him two other epithets, "The Thunderbolt" (Fulmine) and "The Proteus" of painting.

Following a period studying in Rome, Parma and Venice, Giordano developed an elaborate Baroque style fusing Venetian and Roman Influences. His mature work combines the ornamental pomp of Paul Veronese with the lively complex schemes, the "grand manner", of Pietro da Cortona. He is also noted for his lively and showy use of colour. More on Luca Giordano

Studio of Johann Carl Loth, MUNICH 1632 - 1698 VENICE

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON

Oil on canvas

130 x 167.5 cm.; 51 1/8  x 66 in.

Private Collection

Sold for  €15,000 EUR in September 2021

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the parables of Jesus Christ, which he shares it with his disciples, the Pharisees and others.

In the story, a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and after wasting his fortune, becomes destitute. He returns home with the intention of begging his father to be made one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. The father welcomes him back and celebrates his return. The older son refuses to participate. The father reminds the older son that one day he will inherit everything. But, they should still celebrate the return of the younger son because he was lost and is now found. More on The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Johann Carl Loth (1632 – 6 October 1698) was a German Baroque painter, born in Munich but active most of his life in Venice. He was the son and pupil of Johann Ulrich Loth (1590–1662) and was possibly influenced by Giovan Battista Langetti. He was commissioned to paint for the emperor Leopold I in Vienna. He worked together with Pietro Liberi in Venice, where he was during the years 1663-1698. His brother Franz Loth was also a painter in Venice and Germany. More on Johann Carl Loth

Follower of Francesco Ruschi

THE BANISHMENT OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

Oil on canvas

152.1 x 175.7 cm.; 60 x 69 1/4  in.

Private Collection

Sold for 6,250 GBP in December 2016

Hagar is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis Chapter 16. She was an Egyptian handmaid of Sarah, who gave her to Abraham "to wife" to bear a child. The product of the union was Abraham's firstborn, Ishmael, the progenitor of the Ishmaelites.

After Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and the tension between the women returned. At a celebration after Isaac was weaned, Sarah found the teenage Ishmael mocking her son, and demanded that Abraham send Hagar and her son away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed but God told Abraham to do as his wife commanded because God's promise would be carried out through both Isaac and Ishmael.

The name Hagar originates from the Book of Genesis, and is only alluded to in the Qur'an. She is considered Abraham's second wife in the Islamic faith and acknowledged in all Abrahamic faiths. In mainstream Christianity, she is considered a concubine to Abraham. More on Hagar

Francesco Ruschi was an Italian painter born in Rome around 1610. He studied in Rome under Giuseppe Cesari, Francesco Albani and Pietro da Cortona. His work also shows the influence of Caravaggio. He settled in Venice before 1629. He became a friend of the writer Giovan Francesco Loredan, for whom he drew the cover pages of several works. He moved to Treviso from 1656, and died there in 1661. More on Francesco Ruschi

Valentin de Boulogne

Denial of Saint Peter, (ca. 1615–17)

Oil on canvas

67 1/2 × 94 7/8 inches

Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi, Florence

The Denial of Peter refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament.

All four Canonical Gospels state that during Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, he predicted that Peter would deny knowledge of him, stating that Peter would disown him before the rooster crowed the next morning. Following the arrest of Jesus Peter denied knowing him thrice, but after the third denial, heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. This final incident is known as the Repentance of Peter.

The emotional turmoil and turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries. Examples include Caravaggio's Denial of Saint Peter, which is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.More on The Denial of Peter

Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style. Though little is known of Valentin de Boulogne’s early life, he is considered one of most devoted French followers of Caravaggio. De Boulogne joined a society of foreign artists while in Rome known as Bentvueghels, or “Birds of a Feather.” He also had a close working relationship with Nicolas Poussin, with whom he was frequently compared. Though de Boulogne painted biblical scenes, allegorical images, and portraits, he is best remembered for his genre scenes of merrymaking characters enjoying music, drinks, and games in taverns. These were in part inspired by Bartolomeo Manfredi’s genre paintings, and rendered with Caravaggesque chiaroscuro. Anecdotes report that de Boulogne passed away at his early age after contracting a fever after a night carousing at a tavern. More on Valentin de Boulogne

Valentin de Boulogne, (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632),

Martyrdom of Saints Processus and Martinian, c. 1629

Oil on canvas

118 7/8 x 75 9/16 inches

Vatican Pinoteca, Rome

Martinian and Processus were Christian martyrs of ancient Rome. Neither the years they lived nor the circumstances of their deaths are known; although they are currently buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

According to legend, Martinian and Processus were imperial soldiers assigned as the warders of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the Mamertine Prison.[5] The apostles converted their jailers after a spring flowed miraculously in the prison. Peter then baptized them in the miraculous waters. By order of the emperor Nero, the guards were then arrested, tortured and beheaded. After their martyrdom with Paul, a sympathizer called Lucina buried them in her own cemetery. More on Martinian and Processus

Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), see above

Vincente Macip (known in Valencia towards 1490-1550) 

Descent from the Cross 

Pine panel altarpiece element 

96 x 72 cm

Private Collection

Sold for €19,500 EUR in December 2016

By its shape and dimensions this panel comes from an altarpiece whose other elements have not yet been found. 

The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion. In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the 10th century. The Descent from the Cross is the 13th Station of the Cross.

Other figures not mentioned in the Gospels who are often included in depictions of this subject include St. John the Evangelist, who is sometimes depicted supporting a fainting Mary, and Mary Magdalene. The Gospels mention an undefined number of women as watching the crucifixion, including the Three Marys and Mary Salome.. More on The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ

Vicente Masip (also Vicente Macip) (Andilla, 1475 - Valencia, 1545) was a Spanish painter of the Renaissance period. His son was Juan Vicente Masip, and his grandson was named Vicente Masip Comes, also known as Vicent de Joanes.

Born in Andilla, he was influenced on the Quattrocento style. He is considered a Quattrocento painter. One of his early works was the altarpiece of Porta-Coeli in the Museu de Belles Arts de València. He was also responsible for the old high altar of the Segorbe Cathedral between 1529 and 1532 He is also attributed the altarpiece of the Virgin of the Remedy of the Church of San Bartolomé de Benicarlo. It is a painting of the Virgin and Child Enthroned surrounded by various saints.

Vincente Macip (known in Valencia towards 1490-1550) 

Title Martyrdom of St Agnes, circa 1540 and circa 1545

Oil on panel

58 centímetros de diámetor

Prado Museum

The Museo del Prado owns two of his paintings representing the Visitation and the Martyrdom of St. Agnes, executed for the chapel of St. Thomas of Villanova in the convent of San Julián de Valencia. Somewhat overshadowed by the fame of his son who had more of an emotional style, but certainly better equipped, experts doubt the attribution of some works between parent and child, especially those who had been attributed the father. More on Vicente Masip

Agnes of Rome (c. 291 – c. 304) was a popular saint about whom little is known, Agnes is said to have been a beautiful, wealthy Roman maiden who had, in childhood, dedicated herself to God. Some say that a rejected suitor betrayed her to authorities; others say that she was asked at 13 to sacrifice to the gods and marry, both of which she refused. Legends tell of her being thrown into a brothel, where her purity was miraculously preserved. Having escaped that fate, she was martyred. In the IV Century, Constantia, the daughter of Constantine, built a basilica on the site of her tomb. St. Ambrose wrote about Agnes in De virginitate, and Damasus I wrote an epitaph for her. Prudentius composed a hymn in her honor. Her emblem in art is the lamb because of the similarity between her name and the Latin word for lamb, agnus. More on Agnes of Rome

Martin Schongauer, (c. 1445, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach) 

The Beheading of Saint Catherine 

Prepared panel. 

22,5 x 19,5cm - 8 7/8 x 7 11/16 IN. 

Private Collection

Saint Catherine of Alexandria is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar, who became a Christian around the age of fourteen, and converted hundreds of people to Christianity. She was martyred around the age of 18. Over 1,100 years following her martyrdom, St. Joan of Arc identified Catherine as one of the Saints who appeared to her and counselled her.

The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates her as a Great Martyr, and celebrates her feast day on 24 or 25 November (depending on the local tradition). In the Catholic Church she is traditionally revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1969 the Catholic Church removed her feast day from the General Roman Calendar;[4] however, she continued to be commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 25 November. More on Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Martin Schongauer (c. 1445, Colmar – 2 February 1491, Breisach), known in Italy as Bel Martino or Martino d'Anversa, was a German engraver and painter. He was the most important German printmaker before Albrecht Dürer.

Schongauer was born in about 1440 in Colmar, Alsace, probably the third of the four sons of Caspar Schongauer, a goldsmith from Augsburg who taught his son the art of engraving. Colmar is now in France but was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He may well have been trained by Master E. S. The art historian A. Hyatt Mayor saw both their individual styles in different parts of a single engraving, and all the works with Schongauer's M†S monogram show a fully developed style. Schongauer established at Colmar a very important school of engraving, out of which grew the "Little Masters" of the succeeding generation, and a large group of Nuremberg artists. More on Martin Schongauer

Antwerp School circa 1525, circle of Barend van Orley 

Scenes from the Passion of Christ 

Oak panels, three boards

66 x 85,5cm - 26 X 33 IN 11/16. 

Private Collection

Sold for  €19,500.00 in October 2017

In Christianity, the Passion (from Late Latin: passionem "suffering, enduring") is the short final period in the life of Jesus covering his entrance visit to Jerusalem and leading to his crucifixion on Mount Calvary, defining the climactic event central to Christian doctrine of Salvation History.

The word passion has since taken on a more general application and now may also apply to accounts of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs, sometimes using the Latin form passio.  More on the Passion of Christ

Bernard van Orley (between 1487 and 1491 – 6 January 1541), , was a leading artist in Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, though he was at least as active as a leading designer of Brussels tapestry and, at the end of his life, stained glass. Although he never visited Italy, he belongs to the group of Italianizing Flemish painters called the Romanists, who were influenced by Italian Renaissance painting, in his case especially by Raphael.

He was born and died in Brussels, and was the court artist of the Habsburg rulers, and "served as a sort of commissioner of the arts for the Brussels town council". He was extremely productive, concentrating on the design of his works, and leaving their actual execution largely to others in the case of painting. 

Accordingly, his many surviving works (somewhat depleted in number by Reformation iconoclasm) vary considerably in quality. His paintings are generally either religious subjects or portraits, these mostly of Habsburgs repeated in several versions by the workshop, with few mythological subjects. More on Bernard van Orley

ITALIAN school of the seventeenth century, after Daniele da Volterra 

Descent from the Cross 

Oil on Canvas 

H 169 x W 121 cm

Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne

This painting is probably a seventeenth-century copy of a once-famous, sixteenth-century fresco by Daniele da Volterra in the church of Trinita dei Monti in Rome. With its dramatic composition and muscular figures, da Volterra’s work was strongly influenced by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings. Numerous attributions – including Poussin – have been suggested for this version, but in the late eighteenth century the 2nd Viscount Palmerston purchased it as by Domenichino. There is another smaller version in the chapel at Raby Castle, County Durham. More on this painting

The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ, see above

Daniele Ricciarelli (c. 1509 – 4 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra, see below.

Daniele da Volterra (1509–1566)

The Deposition/ Descent from the Cross , c. 1545

After its restoration in 2004

Santissima Trinità dei Monti, titular church in Rome

Daniele da Volterra (1509–1566)

The Deposition/ Descent from the Cross , c. 1545

Detail, Before and After its restoration in 2004

The Descent from the Cross, after the painting by Daniele da Volterra in Sta Trinità dei Monti, Rome; in outline. 1811

Engraving

Height: 220 millimetres, Width: 138 millimetres

The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ, see above

Daniele Ricciarelli (c. 1509 – 4 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra, was a Mannerist Italian painter and sculptor.

Daniele Ricciarelli was born in Volterra (in today's Tuscany). As a boy, he initially studied with the Sienese artists. He left to Rome in 1535, and helped paint the frescoes in the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne.

From 1538 to 1541 he helped Perin with the painting of frescoes in the villa of Cardinal Trivuzio at Salone. He was commissioned the painting of a frieze in the main salon of the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, with the life of Fabius Maximus. In Rotman he also started working in the circle of Michelangelo and befriended him. Michelangelo used his influence with Pope Paul III to secure Daniele commissions and the post of superintendent of the works of the Vatican, a position he retained until the Pope's death. Michelangelo also provided him with sketches on which Daniele based some of his paintings, especially his series of frescoes in the Orsini chapel in the Trinity College.

Later Daniele was commissioned by Paul III to complete the decoration of the Sala Regia. On the death of the pope in 1549 he lost his position as superintendent and the pension to which it entitled him. He then devoted himself chiefly to sculpture.

He died in Rome in 1566. More on Daniele Ricciarelli

Francesco Raibolini, called Francia (Bologna 1440-1517) 

The Virgin and Child in a landscape 

Poplar panel, blackened, strengthened 

63 x 46 cm - 24 13/16 X 18 1/8 IN

Private Collection

Sold for €36,882 EUR in December 2016

Here, the artist has endeavored to represent the Virgin in a setting of great simplicity, the landscape being animated by a few trees whose frail trunks punctuate the background. She introduces the Child before us, supporting him gently, while he blesses the world with his right hand. The serenity that emanates from the faces is accentuated by the delicacy of the pattern and the colors: the harmony of the blues and greens that is also found in the mantle of the Virgin is raised only by the red of the dress and by a little Gold for embroidery. More on this painting

Francesco Raibolini (1447 – January 5, 1517), called Francia, was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint.

He may have trained with Marco Zoppo and was first mentioned as a painter in 1486. His earliest known work is the Felicini Madonna, which is signed and dated 1494. He worked in partnership with Lorenzo Costa, and was influenced by Ercole de' Roberti's and Costa's style, until 1506, when Francia became a court painter in Mantua, after which time he was influenced more by Perugino and Raphael. He himself trained Marcantonio Raimondi and several other artists; he produced niellos, in which Raimondi first learnt to engrave, soon excelling his master, according to Vasari. Raphael's Santa Cecilia is supposed to have produced such a feeling of inferiority in Francia that it caused him to die of depression. However, as his friendship with Raphael is now well-known, this story has been discredited.

He died in Bologna. His sons Giacomo Francia and Giulio Francia were also artists. Among his works is a Baptism of Christ in Lisbon. More on Francesco Raibolini

Andrea Meldolla, (c. 1510/1515–1563) 

Lamentation over the Dead Christ 

Oil on Canvas 

130 X 118cm - 51 1/8 X 46 1/2 IN

Private Collection

Estimate for  €400,000 - €600,000 in December 2016

Schiavone represented the lament over the body of Christ several times. His starting point is an unfinished print of Parmesan. The main difference is that Saint John becomes a Mary Magdalene adjusting her veil on the right. The yellow Christ cloth in the version of the Coin collection is here blue. More on this painting

The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by many different artists.

Lamentation works are very often included in cycles of the Life of Christ, and also form the subject of many individual works. One specific type of Lamentation depicts only Jesus' mother Mary cradling his body. These are known as Pietà (Italian for "pity") More on this painting

Andrea Meldolla (Croatian: Andrija Medulić), also known as Andrea Schiavone or Andrea Lo Schiavone (c. 1510/1515–1563) was an Italian Renaissance painter and etcher, born in present-day Croatia, active mainly in the city of Venice.

Meldolla was born in the Venetian-ruled city of Zara, the son of a garrison commander of a post. His family was originally from the small town of Meldola, close to the city of Forlì in Romagna.

He trained either in Zara or in Venice. There are unproven claims that he trained with Bonifazio de Pitati. He worked in fresco, panel painting, and etching (teaching himself to etch by working initially from drawings by Parmigianino). By 1540, he was well enough established in Venice that Giorgio Vasari commissioned him a large battle picture. Although initially much influenced by Parmigianino and Italian Mannerism, "he was also a strikingly daring exponent of Venetian painting techniques", and ultimately combined both in his works, influencing Titian, Tintoretto, and Jacopo Bassano among others. His works "shocked some contemporaries and stimulated others". By the 1550s, he had achieved a new synthesis.

His etchings weres similarly innovative. His technique was unlike that of any contemporary: unsystematically he used dense webs of light, fine, multidirectional hatching to create a tonal continuum embracing form, light, shadow, and air. More on Andrea Meldolla

Attribué à Pietro Testa (1611–1650) 

La Flagellation/ The Flagellation

Oil on Canvas 

130 X 118cm - 51 1/8 X 46 1/2 IN

Private Collection

Sold for  €3,120.00 in December 2016

The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross, and a Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. The column to which Christ is normally tied, and the rope, scourge, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome, claimed to possess the original column. More on The Flagellation of Christ

Pietro Testa (1611–1650) was an Italian High Baroque artist, best known as a printmaker and draftsman, who was active in Rome. Born in Lucca, Testa moved to Rome early in life. He was friends with Nicolas Poussin and Francesco Mola.

 His early prints, from the 1630s, were often religious and achieve very delicate effects of light; his later ones became harder and more austere in stylei. His prints were successful and frequently copied.

Between 1638 and 1644, Testa completed a set of complex and highly detailed etchings on the theme of The Seasons, which served as an expression of his interest in Platonic philosophy. 

Testa was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci to favor direct observation of natural phenomena, a fact that may have limited his productivity as an artist. Testa was standing on a Tiber riverbank, "drawing and observing some reflections of the rainbow in the water," when he fell in and drowned. More on Pietro Testa

Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569)

The Census at Bethlehem, c. 1566

Oil on oak

Height: 116 cm (45.7 in). Width: 164 cm (64.6 in).

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world; requiring that all people return to the lands of their origin. In Joseph's case, that was Bethlehem, the city of David. More

Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel) the Elder (c. 1525 – 9 September 1569) was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter and printmaker from Brabant, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes. He is sometimes referred to as the "Peasant Bruegel". From 1559, he dropped the 'h' from his name and signed his paintings as Bruegel.

Bruegel was born in Breda, and entered the Antwerp painters' guild in 1551, it is inferred that he was born between 1525 and 1530. His master was the Antwerp painter Pieter Coecke van Aelst, whose daughter Maria Bruegel married in 1563. 

Bruegel became a free master in the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp. In 1552 Bruegel was assigned to paint the rear of two wings of a triptych in Mechelen; the middle panel was painted by Pieter Balten. Between 1552 and 1553 Bruegel traveled to Italy, probably by way of France. He visited Rome, where he met the miniaturist Giulio Clovio, whose will of 1578 lists three paintings by Bruegel. About 1555 Bruegel returned to Antwerp by way of the Alps, which resulted in a number of exquisite drawings of mountain landscapes. These sketches, which form the basis for many of his later paintings, are not records of actual places but "composites" made in order to investigate the organic life of forms in nature.

He received the nickname "Peasant Bruegel" or "Bruegel the Peasant" for his practice of dressing up like a peasant in order to socialize at weddings and other celebrations, thereby gaining inspiration and authentic details for his genre paintings. He died in Brussels on 9 September 1569 and was buried in the Kapellekerk. More on Pieter Bruegel

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