Title
St Paul
painter
Master of Palanquinos [attributed to] (Active in León between 1470-1500)
Anónimo castellano [attributed to]
Generic classification
PaintingObject
PaintingDate
ca. 1490-1500Century
Late 15th c.Cultural context / style
Hispano-FlemishDimensions
31,69 x 12,40 inMaterial
PanelIconography / Theme
San PabloProvenance
Possible origin from Castile and Leon (Castilla y León, Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Spain)Current location
The Bowes Museum (Barnard Castle, United Kingdom)Inventory Number in Current Collection
BM1001Object history
José Gudiol thought that this painting came from Palencia or Burgos due to its stylistic characteristics (Cerón). For his part, Eric Young (1967) stated that the figure was reminiscent of other pieces attributed to the Master of Palanquinos, specifically those linked to the high altar of the Cathedral of León. Currently it is not entirely clear if they were really made by the Master of Palanquinos; in fact, Ballesté (2019) considers that it is an anonymous Castilian author yet to be defined. According to the author, "seen the features of the figure and its elements, the author has little of Leonese and should be located in an area more to the east of Castile" (Ballesté, 2017). It is unknown when the piece left its original location, but it probably happened in the mid-19th century, perhaps as a result of the War of Independence or the disentailments.
The Bowes made trips to different countries in order to acquire new pieces. One of these countries was Spain, a place they visited on several occasions between the 1830s and 1840s. In addition, John Bowes bought more than sixty Spanish paintings from the collection of the Count of Quinto from his widow in 1862 in the city of Paris (Harris, 1953; Spier, 2021). Thus, it is possible that Bowes acquired the painting in his travels or through the purchase of the Count's collection. Be that as it may, the married couple of John Bowes and Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier wanted to create a museum to house their collection (Chapman, 2010). They were not able to see it finished, however, all their pieces are preserved in the Bowes Museum, including this one.
Description
This panel was probably part of an altarpiece from what is now Castilla y León. Saint Paul appears holding the sword with which he was martyred and a book from which a phylactery emerges, alluding to his Epistles. The painting shows Nordic and Italian influences, which has led to doubts about its author.
Locations
XVth c. - XIXth c.
Mid XIXth c. - ca. 1892
ca. 1892 - present
Bibliography
- BALLESTÉ ESCORIHUELA, Marc (2019): "Tablas de nuevos maestros castellanos anteriormente atribuidas al Maestro de Palanquinos (h. 1480-1500)", Archivo Español de Arte, vol. 92, nº 367, p. 258.
- BALLESTÉ ESCORIHUELA, Marc (2017): De la pintura Hispano-flamenca al primer Renacimiento en las antiguas diócesis de León y Astorga: El Maestro de Palanquinos y el Maestro de Astorga (c. 1480-1540), Universidad de Lleida (Tesis doctoral), Lleida, p. 118.
- CERÓN, Mercedes "Saint Paul", en National Inventory of Continental European Paintings, VADS: Univerity fot the Creative Arts.
- CHAPMAN, Caroline (2010): John and Josephine: the Creation of the Bowes Museum, The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle.
- HARRIS, Enriqueta (1953): "Spanish Pictures from the Bowes Museum", vol. 95, nº 598, The Burlington Magazine, p. 22.
- SPIER, Simon (2021): Creating The Bowes Museum, c.1858-1917: Private Collecting and the Art Market in the Public Art Museum, The University of Leeds, Leeds, p. 51.
- YOUNG, Eric (1967): "Cuadros españoles poco conocidos en el Bowes Museum", nº 40, Archivo Español de Arte, pp. 205-206.
- YOUNG, Eric (1967): "The Spanish Paintings at the Bowes Museum", nº 85, Apollo, p. 454.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "St Paul" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/361
