Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Painting during a period when artists no longer worked as anonymous craftsmen, Catarino signed this altarpiece prominently, "Catarino from Venice painted [this]." Juxtaposed with the donor's coat of arms (lower center, now missing), this signature aligns him with the patron, who kneels at Mary's feet. The patron shows his devotion through his commission, the artist through his skill. The glowing face on Mary's dress associates her with the "woman clothed with the sun" (Revelation 12:1) of the Bible. Both Mary and the Woman were understood to be symbols of the Christian Church.Sts. Anthony Abbot and John the Baptist stand to Mary's right. To her left are Sts. Christopher and James the Great. St. Lucy, with her lamp, and St. Catherine of Alexandria, with her wheel, flank the Crucifixion with Mary and John at the top. The half-length figures, from left to right, are Sts. Ursula, Bartholomew, Clare, and Barbara. (Ursula and Barbara have been mislabeled but may be recognized by their attributes-Ursula holds an arrow, and Barbara holds a monstrance, a container used to display the consecrated wafer.)For more information on this polyptych, please see Zeri catalogue number 34, pp. 56-58.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
6083
label
Madonna and Child, the Crucifixion, and Saints
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
6083
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Madonna and Child, the Crucifixion, and Saints
description
Painting during a period when artists no longer worked as anonymous craftsmen, Catarino signed this altarpiece prominently, "Catarino from Venice painted [this]." Juxtaposed with the donor's coat of arms (lower center, now missing), this signature aligns him with the patron, who kneels at Mary's feet. The patron shows his devotion through his commission, the artist through his skill. The glowing face on Mary's dress associates her with the "woman clothed with the sun" (Revelation 12:1) of the Bible. Both Mary and the Woman were understood to be symbols of the Christian Church.Sts. Anthony Abbot and John the Baptist stand to Mary's right. To her left are Sts. Christopher and James the Great. St. Lucy, with her lamp, and St. Catherine of Alexandria, with her wheel, flank the Crucifixion with Mary and John at the top. The half-length figures, from left to right, are Sts. Ursula, Bartholomew, Clare, and Barbara. (Ursula and Barbara have been mislabeled but may be recognized by their attributes-Ursula holds an arrow, and Barbara holds a monstrance, a container used to display the consecrated wafer.)For more information on this polyptych, please see Zeri catalogue number 34, pp. 56-58.
provenance
Unknown family, Osimo (?) [date of acquisition unknown], by commission; Count Giovanni Orsi, Ancona, prior to 1855 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Piccoli, Venice [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1908-1909 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1380-1389 (Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
polyptychs
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
176.5
height
185.9
dimensionsRaw
H with frame and original base: 69 1/2 x W: 73 3/16 in. (176.5 x 185.9 cm); Framed H: 69 1/2 x W: 73 1/4 x D: 4 3/4 in. (176.5 x 186.1 x 12.1 cm); Panel with Madonna, Child and donor, including reserved margins H: 46 1/4 x W: 24 5/8 in. (117.5 x 62.5 cm); Panels with SS. Anthony Abbot, John the Baptist, Christopher, James the Great, each approx. H: 40 3/8 x W: 11 5/8 in. (102.5 x 29.5 cm); Panel with Crucifixion H: 16 9/16 x W: 12 3/16 in. (42 x 31 cm); Panel with St. Catherine H: 15 3/8 x W: 6 5/16 in. (39 x 16 cm); Panel with St. Lucy H: 15 1/16 x W: 6 5/16 in. (38.2 x 16 cm); Panel with SS. Ursula and Bartholomew, approx. H: 12 5/8 x W: 23 1/4 in. (32 x 59 cm); Panel with SS. Clare and Barbara, approx. H: 12 x W: 23 in. (30.5 x 58.4 cm); Min. original panel D: 1/2 in. (1.3 cm); Max. original panel D: 1 in. (2.5 cm)
style
Gothic
Source extras
inscriptions
[Transcription] In upper tier
panels from left to right: S BARBARA; S BA...TOLI (?); S LVCIA; I.N.R.I.; S CATARINA; S CHLA[RA]; MAR...; [Transcription] In main row
in scroll held by John the Baptist: ECCE / AGN / V DE / I ECC / E QVI / TOLI / PECA / TA M / VNDI; [Transcription] Signed in center of base: CHATARI / NVS. DE / VENECII / PINXIT.
med
tempera and gold on panel
creator_ids
2871
collection_ids
MED
exhibition_ids
2064
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8a1b0c2aeabc1c86