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Compartment of an altarpiece with Saint Peter

Gothic

Anonymous

Second third of the 15th century

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Since the Late Middle Ages, Saint Peter is usually represented not only with the keys, but also with the pontifical ornaments: white alb, red stole and cape, and triple tiara. The papal condition is emphasized here by seating the saint on a sumptuous throne and placing next to him two cardinals with respectively blue and green habits (perhaps one represents a prelate in time of Lent or mourning, and the other a patriarch) and with hats of the same colors, although in reality the cardinal's hat is always red. In the catalog of the 1868 Vic exhibition a painting with this theme coming from the old main altarpiece of Sant Pere de Torelló is mentioned, surely the same one that Antoni de Espona deposited in the Museum of the Literary Circle of Vic in 1880, and considered of German descent in the MEV catalog published thirteen years later, as it was then deduced from the decorative luxury. In fact, the embossed and gilded background characterised the artistic tastes of the country since the arrival of flemish inflences by the second third of the 15th century. Post had attributed this panel to the Master of Olot (for some, Miquel Torell from Girona), an artistic personality who, according to other researchers, encompasses too different works. However, in 2017 Silvia Mancebo exhumed a receipt from 1443 for which Joan Vicenç, a painter from Perpignan and resident in Amer, was paid thirty gold florins as part of the price of an altarpiece for the parish church of Torelló. Although it cannot be assured that Vicenç, unknown until the time of discovery, is the author of the panel or that the recipient church was exactly that of Sant Pere de Torelló, the information undoubtely illuminates the action of a master (or workshop) with connections on both sides of the Pyrenees in the context of the Second International Gothic style that, at least, provides a good context for the understanding of this work and that suggests ways to clarify the personality (or personalities) of the Master of Olot.

Marc Sureda Jubany

Llegir més

Location

Room10 ,Floor0

4 Romanesque Art

5-6-7-8 Gothic Art

Detalls de l’obra

PLACE OF EXECUTION

Catalonia

PERIOD

Second third of the 15th century

Material

Tempera painting on wood

Dimensions

164 x 110.5 x 10.5cm

Origin

Sant Pere de Torelló (Osona)

WORK NUMBER

MEV 788