Provenance

Robert Langton Douglas

1864 - 1951

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This altarpiece is made up of three panels, with a woman and baby sitting on a throne surrounded by winged angels at the center and flanked by a panel to either side that each shows two people standing under pointed arches. The background across all the panels is gold, and the top of each panel comes to a triangular point above. Spiraling columns frame and separate the sections. The people and angels have pale or deeply tanned skin, and wear robes in silvery-white, pale pink, celery green, crimson red, or pale yellow. They all have plate-like halos, which overlap for some of the angels around the throne. The floor across all three panels is patterned with gold against a burgundy-red background. The central panel shows a woman, Mary, wearing a lapis-blue robe, propping a standing baby up in her lap with both hands. The baby wraps one arm around her neck and grips the neckline of her dress with the other. The twelve angels around them look on from the sides or from small groups in the lower corners. Above the pointed arch over the throne, a bearded man is shown from the chest up in a shape of three lobes alternating with three points. That man faces us and holds up his right hand, to our left, with the first two fingers raised. He holds up an open book with Latin text with his other hand. In the panel to our left, two men with tan skin and gray hair and beards stand with their bodies angled toward the central panel. The man to our left holds a tall wooden cross and the man to our right holds up an open book with Latin text with one hand and a bundle of rods with the other. The gable above has a circle carved into its center. In that roundel is an angel inside a four-lobed quatrefoil, shown from the waist up facing our right. In the right panel, a man with tanned skin and a woman with pale skin stand under pointed arches. The man, to our left, holds and looks down at the pages of an open red book. To our right, the woman holds a palm frond in one hand and a closed green book in the other, and she stands in the circle of a wooden wheel lined with black spikes. The roundel above the pair shows a woman and a dove inside a four-lobed quatrefoil. Inscriptions appear with gold letters against a gold background across the bottom of each panel, so are difficult to make out. The panel to our left reads, “S. ANDREAS AP L U S; S. BENEDICTUS ABBAS.” Under the central panel, text reads, “AVE MARIA GRATIA PNELA DOMINUS.” The third panel reads, “S. BERNARDUS DOCTOR; S. K TERINA VIRGO.” Latin in the two books held outward is also legible. The book in the leftmost panel reads, “AUSCU LTA.O FILI.PR ECEPTA .MAGIS RI.ET.IN CLINA.AUREM CORDIS.T UI A MONITIONE M.PII.PA TRIS.LI BENTE R.EXCIP E.ET.EF.” In the central panel, the Latin inscription reads, “EGO SUM A O PRINCI PIU FINIS EGO SUM VI A. VERITAS VITA.”
Agnolo Gaddi, Madonna and Child with Saints Andrew, Benedict, Bernard, and Catherine of Alexandria with Angels [entire triptych], shortly before 1387, tempera on poplar panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.4.a-c

Madonna and Child with Saints Andrew, Benedict, Bernard, and Catherine of Alexandria with Angels [entire triptych]

Agnolo Gaddi · shortly before 1387 · tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.4.a-c

A woman sitting on a throne supports a baby as twelve winged angels look on, all framed in a carved, gilded pointed arch in this vertical panel. It is the center of a three-panel triptych. The background behind all the people is gold, and the top of the panel comes to a rounded, pointed arch under a second taller, sharper point. Trios of spiraling columns frame the left and right sides. The woman, child, and angels all have pale skin tinged faintly with green, and rosy cheeks. They all have blond hair except for the woman, whose hair is covered, and all have plate-like gold halos that overlap, sometimes obscuring the bodies of others. The woman, Mary, faces us from her ivory-white, carved stone throne. She looks slightly above us with brown eyes under delicate brows. She has a small, straight nose, and her narrow pink lips are closed. The lapis-blue robe that covers her head and body is bordered with gold patterns, and has a starburst on her right shoulder, to our left. The pea-green underside of the mantle is visible where it turns over on the sleeves and down the front, and the robe is worn over an ivory-white dress patterned with gold. The child she holds with both hands, Jesus, stands on her lap and wraps one arm around her neck. His other hand grips the high neckline of her dress. He looks up with dark, close-set eyes. He has curly blond hair, a double chin, and rounded cheeks. Two tiny teeth are barely visible below his pink upper lip. Despite the rounded cheeks, his face looks more like that of an adult, and the proportions of his body are also adult-like. He wears a gold-trimmed, pale pink robe over a blue garment, which stops just short of his bare feet. The twelve angels surrounding the throne are grouped in trios, with three looking on to our upper left, three to our upper right, and then two trios gathered in each lower corner. Their wings and robes are painted in tones of celery green, ruby red, butter yellow, and pale rose pink. Each has a triangular diadem above their foreheads. The floor beneath is patterned with gold against a burgundy-red background. Above Mary and Jesus, a bearded man is shown from the chest up in a shape made of three lobes alternating with three points. That man faces us and holds up his right hand, to our left, with the first two fingers raised. He wears a shell-pink garment under a green robe, and holds up an open book with Latin text with his other hand. The frame around Mary, Jesus, and the gable above is carved and gilded. Barely discernable, the panel is inscribed across the bottom below the throne, “AVE MARIA GRATIA PNELA DOMINUS.” The pages of the books read, “EGO SUM A O PRINCI PIU FINIS EGO SUM VI A. VERITAS VITA.”
Agnolo Gaddi, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], shortly before 1387, tempera on poplar panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.4.b

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Twelve Angels, and with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]

Agnolo Gaddi · shortly before 1387 · tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.4.b

Neroccio de' Landi, Madonna and Child with Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Sigismund, c. 1490/1495, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.17

Madonna and Child with Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Sigismund

Neroccio de' Landi · c. 1490/1495 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.17

Sassetta, Saint Apollonia, c. 1435, tempera on poplar panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.5

Saint Apollonia

Sassetta · c. 1435 · tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1943.4.5

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Cassone with Coats-of-Arms

Italian 16th Century · 16th century · walnut, oak, elm, and pine ·  Accession ID  1942.9.374

A man with deeply tanned skin and a woman with pale skin stand under pointed arches with a woman wearing blue in the triangular gable above, all against a gold background and set within a carved, gold frame in this vertical painting. This is the right wing of a three-panel triptych. The man on the left is mostly bald but has a fringe of tawny brown hair, a forked beard, and he wears a white robe. His body is angled slightly to our left. He looks down at a book held open in both hands. The cover is decorated with gold against a scarlet-red cover. The woman on the right faces us, looking at us with hazel eyes under thin brows. She wears a gold crown on her blond hair, which is gathered at the back of her neck. A pale pink mantle trimmed in gold wraps around her bronze and off-white brocaded gown which is visible at the neckline and hem. The edge of the mantle is turned back to reveal its goldenrod-yellow lining. She holds a green frond up in her right hand, to our left, and in the other hand holds a book with a forest-green cover embellished with gold. A wood wheel studded with short black spikes encircles her feet. Both saints have halos carved into the gold background, and they stand on a floor patterned with gold and burgundy red. The outer columns of the panel have pairs of twisted shafts that support the gable, which has a circle carved into its center. In that roundel is a woman and a dove inside a four-lobed quatrefoil. Shown from the waist up, the woman faces our left almost in profile. She has blond hair under the hood of her blue robe, and wears a rose-pink dress. Her hands are crossed over her chest, and she looks at a white dove flying next to her. Above the roundel, a face is surrounded by blood-red wings, set within a shape that has three lobes alternating with three points. Barely discernable, the panel is inscribed across the bottom below the saints, “S. BERNARDUS DOCTOR; S. K TERINA VIRGO.”
Agnolo Gaddi, Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel], shortly before 1387, tempera on poplar panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.4.c

Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]

Agnolo Gaddi · shortly before 1387 · tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.4.c

A winged angel with arms crossed kneels across from a young woman sitting and holding a book, both under an archway in a paneled room in this vertical painting. They both have pale, yellow-toned skin, blond hair, and flat, gold halos. They also have golden brown eyes, long, straight noses, smooth cheeks, and their pale, pink lips are closed. To our right, the woman sits in a throne-like chair with her body facing our left. Her head tilts down, and she looks toward the angel under lowered lids. Her hair is pulled back under the neck of the lapis-blue cloak she wears over a crimson-red dress. The dress and cloak are trimmed with gold, and a there is a gold starburst on the cloak over her left shoulder, closer to us. She holds her other hand up near that shoulder with her fingertips brushing her chest. With her other hand, she holds open the pages of a small book in her lap, so her fingers overlap some of the words. The entire Latin inscription would read, “virgo concipiet et pariet filium et vocabitur nomen eius emmanuel butirum et mel come dit ut fiat reprobare.” A slender, bone-white column separates her from the angel across from her, along the left edge of the painting. The angel has curly, shoulder-length hair and wears a robe with a gold, floral pattern against a burgundy-red background. Long, golden wings emerge from the shoulder blades and extend off the side of the composition. An open archway just beyond the angel is filled with streaks of flax yellow and burnt orange, possibly representing flames. Some of the walls in the room around the pair are pale olive green and other areas are darker spruce green. There are bands of coral-pink molding and inset panels of patterned mosaics. The flat ceiling of the space immediately over the pair is decorated with checkerboard panels in navy blue, hunter green, brown, and brick red. Gold lines create a ray coming from the ceiling toward the woman. At the back of the space, beyond the column separating the woman and angel, the room extends into an alcove with an arched hallway painted with gold stars against a midnight-blue background. Double doors open at the back of the alcove onto a room with a pale-yellow curtain with a mesh-like trim. We see the pair as if through a stone archway that lines the top and sides of the composition. The upper corners are filled with leafy decorations, as if carved into the stone.
Masolino da Panicale, The Annunciation, c. 1423/1424, tempera (and possibly oil glazes) on panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.16

The Annunciation

Masolino da Panicale · c. 1423/1424 · tempera (and possibly oil glazes) on panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.16

Three men with crowns and wearing gold-trimmed robes stand and kneel before a woman sitting on a wooden, box-like seat holding a baby to our right, in front of a rocky cave and landscape, in this horizontal painting. A balding man with a gray beard and hair, Joseph, and two younger people with blond hair stand around the woman, Mary, to our right, while a group of five young men or boys and three horses gather near the left edge. All the people have pale skin. Mary, the baby Jesus, Joseph, and the three men closest to them all have shimmering gold halos. One balding man with a long white beard kneels and kisses the baby’s feet. He wears a gold and crimson-red brocade-like robe over a burgundy-red garment, and he holds a pointed gold crown in his right hand, which rests on the ground. Behind him and to our left, a younger man with curly blond hair and goatee, wearing a wine-red tunic belted with gold and a gold crown on his head, holds his hands in prayer as he kneels down on one knee. The third stands to our left, cleanshaven with long blond hair. He wears a fur-lined, thigh-length scarlet-red robe and a gold crown, and he holds up a gold vessel in one hand. To our right, Mary wears a lapis-blue robe that covers her head and falls to her feet. The baby is covered only by a white cloth across his hips, and he has short blond hair. He touches the kneeling man’s head with one hand. His body is pudgy but his face has more adult-like, delicate features. Joseph stands at the woman’s far shoulder, wearing a butter-yellow robe over a rose-pink garment. His hands are gathered on a walking stick in front of his chest and his brows are furrowed with deep lines. One of the two younger people behind Mary, to our right, holds a lidded gold vessel. The group of five attendants to our left gather around cream-white, gray, or chestnut-brown horses. These blond people wear garments of dark olive-green, coral-red, royal-blue, or rose-pink tunics over black stockings. The rocky, brown cave behind Mary and Jesus, to our right of center, is occupied by a donkey and an ox behind a wooden trough. The landscape beyond is segmented into quilt-like squares of stylized crops. The horizon line comes almost to the top edge of the panel beneath a narrow strip of vivid, cobalt-blue sky. A gold star like a sunburst with rays of light hovers over the woman and child.
Giovanni di Paolo, The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1450, tempera on panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.13

The Adoration of the Magi

Giovanni di Paolo · c. 1450 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.13

Shown from the waist up, a cleanshaven man with pale, peachy skin, wearing a black cap and a voluminous fur-lined, black cloak, is positioned behind a crimson-red ledge or tabletop in this vertical portrait painting. His head and torso nearly fills the composition. His body is angled to our left, and he looks off in that direction with dark brown eyes under faint eyebrows. His high cheeks are lightly flushed, and he has a pointed nose and a hint of a five o-clock shadow. His soft black cap has flaps that cover his ears. The wide, fur lapels of his black cloak nearly reach his shoulders. The sleeves of the garment beneath has a tan and black checked pattern, and a white undershirt peeks out at his neck and cuffs. A cross hanging from a heavy gold chain has black pearls in the cross of each arm and a teardrop-shaped black pearl hangs from the bottom. The cross has a hand on each short arm, two feet on the long leg, and a red circle at the center. The sitter’s left hand, on our right, rests on the red ledge holding a pair of gloves that are ivory white around the wrist and charcoal gray at the fingers. His right hand, father from us, rests in a loose fist near his other wrist. A folded piece of white paper with black writing lies to our left of the hands. It reads, “NVNQVID NON PAVCITAS DIERVM MEORVM FINIETVR BREVIS.” The background behind the man is mottled with rust brown and steel gray. Gold writing spans the background to either side of the man’s head, reading, “BRIANVS TVKS, MILES, ANO ETATIS EVAE LVII” along the top and “DROIT ET AVANT” below.
Hans Holbein the Younger, Sir Brian Tuke, c. 1527/1528 or c. 1532/1534, oil on panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.65

Sir Brian Tuke

Hans Holbein the Younger · c. 1527/1528 or c. 1532/1534 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.65

Sassetta, Saint Margaret, c. 1435, tempera on poplar panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.4

Saint Margaret

Sassetta · c. 1435 · tempera on poplar panel ·  Accession ID  1943.4.4

Bibliography

1979

  • Sutton, Denys. "Robert Langton Douglas, Parts I-IV" (featured study appearing in four successive issues). Apollo 109 (April 1979): 248-315; (May 1979): 334-393; (June 1979): 412-475; 110 (July 1979): 205-248.