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拍品專文
Only recently rediscovered, this expressive depiction of Saint Peter represents an important addition to the oeuvre of the Lombard painter Vincenzo Foppa. Foppa’s acutely naturalistic portrayal of the saint is meticulously observed, from the refined modelling of the lined flesh around his eyes, to the light striking his cheekbone and delicately textured hair and beard. The saint’s halo, with its distinctive, freehand geometric design, outlined by a row of round punches and lined with a fine, scalloped line of dots, is identical to that of Saint Christopher in a panel formerly in the collection of Samuel H. Kress and now at the Denver Art Museum (fig. 1). It seems almost certain, then, that the two panels belonged to the same, as yet unidentified polyptych.
Roberto Longhi was first to identify the Denver Saint Christopher in 1939, which he dated to around 1460 (R. Longhi, La pittura bresciana del Rinascimento, Bergamo, 1939, no. 29). Fernanda Wittgens, publishing it in 1949, placed it a decade later, however, around 1470, citing Foppa’s use of light and intensely defined figures, reminiscent of Ferrarese models (F. Wittgens, Kunstschätze der Lombardei 500 vor Christus - 1800 nach Christus, Zürich, 1949, p. 62-63, 98). Wittgens suggested the artist may have based his treatment of Saint Christopher on a panel of the same subject by Giovanni Bellini, part of the San Vincenzo Ferrer altarpiece of 1464-68, in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice.
The present panel is slightly smaller than the Denver painting, which measures 22 13/16 x 14 ½ in. (57.9 x 36.8 cm.). With the Christ Child on his shoulders, the Saint Christopher certainly lends himself to the elongated format. The smaller Saint Peter could perhaps then have formed part of the upper register of an altarpiece. Without a direct, side-by-side comparison, which has thus far not been possible, it is difficult to ascertain for certain, but the figures of Saints Peter and Christopher themselves appear to be similar in scale. It is possible, then, that the present painting was originally larger and was cut at some point after the polyptych’s dispersal. The two panels might in that case have both formed similarly scaled lateral wings of an altarpiece, likely with Saint Peter to the left and Saint Christopher to the right, each facing inward toward the central scene.
Roberto Longhi was first to identify the Denver Saint Christopher in 1939, which he dated to around 1460 (R. Longhi, La pittura bresciana del Rinascimento, Bergamo, 1939, no. 29). Fernanda Wittgens, publishing it in 1949, placed it a decade later, however, around 1470, citing Foppa’s use of light and intensely defined figures, reminiscent of Ferrarese models (F. Wittgens, Kunstschätze der Lombardei 500 vor Christus - 1800 nach Christus, Zürich, 1949, p. 62-63, 98). Wittgens suggested the artist may have based his treatment of Saint Christopher on a panel of the same subject by Giovanni Bellini, part of the San Vincenzo Ferrer altarpiece of 1464-68, in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice.
The present panel is slightly smaller than the Denver painting, which measures 22 13/16 x 14 ½ in. (57.9 x 36.8 cm.). With the Christ Child on his shoulders, the Saint Christopher certainly lends himself to the elongated format. The smaller Saint Peter could perhaps then have formed part of the upper register of an altarpiece. Without a direct, side-by-side comparison, which has thus far not been possible, it is difficult to ascertain for certain, but the figures of Saints Peter and Christopher themselves appear to be similar in scale. It is possible, then, that the present painting was originally larger and was cut at some point after the polyptych’s dispersal. The two panels might in that case have both formed similarly scaled lateral wings of an altarpiece, likely with Saint Peter to the left and Saint Christopher to the right, each facing inward toward the central scene.