Title
St. Bartholomew
Francés, Nicolás [attributed to] [school of] (León. Active 1434-1468)
Generic classification
PaintingObject
PaintingDate
ca. 1460Century
Third quarter of the 15th c.Cultural context / style
End of International GothicDimensions
26 3/8 x 15 9/16 inMaterial
PanelTechnique
TemperaIconography / Theme
San BartoloméProvenance
San Félix Church (Villalobos, Zamora, Spain)Current location
Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, United States)Inventory Number in Current Collection
58.5Object history
This panel comes from the church of San Félix, Villalobos (Zamora). According to Gómez-Moreno (1927), in this church there was a main altarpiece that was dismantled. Although the structure of the altarpiece was Baroque, it had preserved some panels dated to the 15th century, which he described as follows: "ten busts of apostles on engraved gold backgrounds, measuring 52 by 33 centimeters; four boards, 96 by 34 centimeters, with Saints Anton, Sebastian and two bishops, on damasked backgrounds [...]" (Gómez-Moreno, 1927). In the first quarter of the 20th century the piece left the country, since Post in 1938 mentions that it is in the Borchard collection in New York. Although Post does not specify to which member of the Borchard family the work belonged, it is most likely that it was acquired by Samuel Borchard. Subsequently, Evelyn Borchard Metzger, his daughter, donated the painting in 1958 to the Williams College Museum of Art (Massachusetts), where it is kept today.
Description
According to Christian tradition, after the resurrection of Christ, St. Bartholomew traveled to different regions to preach the Gospel. In Armenia, after converting King Polymius to Christianity, he was captured by order of the king's brother, who opposed the new faith. As punishment, they tore off his skin and beheaded him. Thus, St. Bartholomew is depicted on the canvas with his attributes: the cutlass with which he was flayed and a book with which he would preach the Gospel.
Locations
Third quarter of the XVth c. - Early XXth c.
First quarter of the XXth c. - ca. 1958
private collection
Evelyn Borchard Metzger, New York (United States) *
ca. 1958 - present
Bibliography
- GÓMEZ-MORENO, Manuel (1927): Catálogo monumental de la Provincia de Zamora (1903-1905), Ministerio de Instrucción Pública y Bellas Arte, Madrid.
- POST, Chandler Rathfon (1938): A History of Spanish Painting, vol. 7 (The Catalan School in the Late Middle Ages), nº 2, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts).
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "St. Bartholomew" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/331
Saint Bartholomew (Detail).
