Title

Saints Margaret and Bartholomew. Fragment of an altarpiece from the church of San Pablo, Palencia

painter

Mateu, Jaume [attributed to] (Active in Valencia between 1402-1452)

Generic classification

Painting

Object

Painting

Date

ca. 1450

Century

Mid 15th c.

Cultural context / style

International Gothic

Dimensions

16 x 33 in

Current location

Philadelphia Museum of Art (Filadelfia, United States)

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Cat. 261

Object history

This panel was part of an altarpiece dedicated to Saint Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins. Thanks to a photograph belonging to the Ruiz Vernacci Archive (negative no. 2005), Post (1933) and Pérez and Rodríguez (1995) were able to confirm that it was located inside the convent of San Pablo de Palencia in 1879. Shortly thereafter it must have been dismantled and dismembered. At present the altarpiece is scattered in different museums and collections:

Four panels from the upper part are in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid(Arrival in England of Saint Ursula, Request for the hand of Saint Ursula, The King of England is informed of the proposal of Saint Ursula, Baptism of Conan in the presence of Saint Ursula and his father).
Four others are in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool(St. Ursula preaches to the eleven thousand virgins, St. Ursula and eleven thousand virgins arrive in Rome, St. Ursula before the king of the Huns, The martyrdom of the eleven thousand Virgins).
Two of them are in the Zorn Museum, in Mora(St. Bartholomew and St. Mary Magdalene).
Four figures of saints from the predella are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art(Saints Sebastian and Catherine of Alexandria and Saints Margaret and Bartholomew).
Finally, four other panels are unaccounted for.

The panel of Saints Margaret and Bartholomew was located in the predella of the altarpiece along with five other images. This piece was acquired by John G. Johnson at the end of the 19th century, possibly on one of his trips through Europe (Prieto, 2020). The American lawyer bequeathed the painting to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1917, where it is preserved today.

Description

This piece belonged to the predella of the altarpiece. It is divided into two panels where two saints are represented: Saint Margaret and Saint Bartholomew.

Saint Margaret appears in the left panel. She is seated and holding a dragon by a leash, her most distinctive attribute. This mythological animal is a symbol of her martyrdom and of the fable spread by Santiago de la Vorágine according to which a dragon wanted to devour her. However, the Saint made the sign of the cross and the animal disappeared.

Saint Bartholomew, located in the right panel, is easily identifiable by the large knife he holds in his right hand, the instrument of his martyrdom, since he was flayed alive. He wears a mantle richly decorated with golden brocade.

Locations

XV^th c. - Last quarter of the XIX^th c.
church
Church of San Pablo, Palencia, Palencia (Spain)
Last quarter of the XIX^th c. - 1917
private collection
John G. Johnson, Filadelfia (United States) *
ca. 1917 - present
museum
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Filadelfia (United States)

* The relative location of dealers, antique shops, art galleries, and collectors leads us to the places where they were based or had one of their main headquarters. However, this does not always indicate that every artwork that passed through their hands was physically located there. In the case of antique dealers and art merchants, their business often extended across multiple territories; sometimes they would purchase items at their origin and send them directly to clients. Similarly, some collectors owned multiple residences, sometimes in different countries, where they housed their collections. It is often difficult to determine exactly where a specific piece was kept during its time in their possession. Consequently, the main location of the dealer or collector is indicated. These factors should be considered when interpreting the map. Refer to the object's history in each case.

Bibliography

POST, Chandler Rathfon (1933): A History of Spanish Painting, vol. 4 (The Hispano-Flemish Style in North-Western Spain), nº 1, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts).
PRIETO, Ester (2020): "La iglesia palentina de San Pablo: breve estudio sobre sus retablos (siglos XV-XVII)", ACCADERE. Revista de Historia del Arte, pp. 89-115.
RODRÍGUEZ, María Victoria y PÉREZ, Fernando (1996): "Iconografía de Santa Úrsula en Palencia", en Actas del III Congreso de Historia de Palencia, Diputación Provincial de Palencia, Palencia, pp. 763-772.

Record manager

Isabel Escalera Fernández

Citation:

Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Saints Margaret and Bartholomew. Fragment of an altarpiece from the church of San Pablo, Palencia" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/349

Saints Margaret and Bartholomew. Fragment of an altarpiece from the church of San Pablo, Palencia.

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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Title

Saints Margaret and Bartholomew. Fragment of an altarpiece from the church of San Pablo, Palencia

painter

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

Description

Locations

XVth c. - Last quarter of the XIXth c.

church

Church of San Pablo, Palencia, Palencia (Spain)

Last quarter of the XIXth c. - 1917

private collection

John G. Johnson, Filadelfia (United States) *

ca. 1917 - present

museum

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Filadelfia (United States)

Bibliography

Record manager

Citation:

Saints Margaret and Bartholomew. Fragment of an altarpiece from the church of San Pablo, Palencia.

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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