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Source Description
The panel with two virgin saints was probably originally part of a small polyptych (altarpiece consisting of several panels). Framed by golden, classical arches and standing on a checkered floor, the saints seem to be placed within a real space. They hold palm branches, the attribute of martyrs. Next to Saint Catherine of Alexandria's feet is the spiked wheel on which her persecutors unsuccessfully tried to kill her. Although the second figure has an inscription on the neckline identifying her as Saint Margaret, she holds a lamb, the attribute of Saint Agnes. Vincenzo Foppa was one of the leading painters in Milan before Leonardo da Vinci arrived in the city in 1482. The figures' silvery fleshtones and elaborately patterned fabrics are characteristic of Foppa's work.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
10339
label
Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Agnes
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
10339
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Agnes
description
The panel with two virgin saints was probably originally part of a small polyptych (altarpiece consisting of several panels). Framed by golden, classical arches and standing on a checkered floor, the saints seem to be placed within a real space. They hold palm branches, the attribute of martyrs. Next to Saint Catherine of Alexandria's feet is the spiked wheel on which her persecutors unsuccessfully tried to kill her. Although the second figure has an inscription on the neckline identifying her as Saint Margaret, she holds a lamb, the attribute of Saint Agnes. Vincenzo Foppa was one of the leading painters in Milan before Leonardo da Vinci arrived in the city in 1482. The figures' silvery fleshtones and elaborately patterned fabrics are characteristic of Foppa's work.
provenance
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 328, as Ambrogio da Fossano]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1460 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
panel paintings
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
44.3
height
32
dimensionsRaw
Visible painted surface H: 17 7/16 x W: 12 5/8 in. (44.3 x 32 cm); H including modern molding: 21 15/16 x W: 17 x D: 9/16 in. (55.8 x 43.2 x 1.4 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Inscription] On neckline of St. Agnes: MARGARITA; [Transcription] On gesso-coated back: P.D. GIO LTA. B.
med
tempera and gold leaf on wood panel
creator_ids
6928
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
2620
3014
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
954afdd2bf1768e5
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
a75714792d895033
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no