Bacchus with a Man pressing Grape (The Month October)
Old Master Paintings
Artist | |
---|---|
Culture | Italian |
Date | third quarter of the 15th century |
Object type | painting |
Medium, technique | tempera and gold on wood |
Dimensions | 18.7 × 26.3 cm |
Inventory number | 1288 |
Collection | Old Master Paintings |
On view | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Cabinet 17 |
Painted in the style of a miniature, this small diptych shows, in its upper fields, the first and last moments in the life of Christ: the Nativity and the Crucifixion. In the lower fields, standing in front of a gold background, symbolising the heavenly sphere, are eight saints, who can be recognised by their attributes (the objects they are holding), their age and their clothing and hairstyle. The coat-of-arms of the commissioner can be seen in the bottom right corner of the left panel. The diptych once also served as a reliquary: the rectangular cavities, which are now filled in, probably once held the earthly remains of saints. The reverse is painted to resemble an inlay of precious stones. This diptych is attributed to an artist known by the nickname of Lo Scheggia, who was the younger brother of the founder of Renaissance painting, Masaccio.
Pigler, Andor, Katalog der Galerie Alter Meister, 1-2. Museum der Bildenden Künste, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, p. 234-235.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.