Title
The Mass of Saint Gregory the Great
painter
Generic classification
PaintingObject
PaintingDate
ca. 1520Century
First quarter of the 16th c.Cultural context / style
RenaissanceMaterial
WoodIconography / Theme
Misa de San GregorioProvenance
Possible origin from Castile and Leon (Castilla y León, Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Spain)Current location
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest (Hungary)Inventory Number in Current Collection
85.7Object history
The Master of Portillo carried out his work in the present-day provinces of Ávila and Valladolid during the first half of the 16th century (Angulo, 1940; Post, 1948; Redondo Cantera, 1991). His style is strongly influenced by the work of Pedro Berruguete, a fact that is evident in the painting housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. The origin of this piece remains unknown; however, considering the locations where the Master of Portillo worked, it seems plausible to suggest that it was created for a religious building in Ávila or Valladolid. Many of the Master of Portillo’s works left Spain at the beginning of the 20th century due to the resemblance of his work to that of Pedro Berruguete. Some were sold by the Ruiz brothers (Martínez Ruiz, 2020), and others by the art dealer Juan Lafora (Post, 1948), who had contacts abroad, primarily in the United States (Martínez Ruiz, 2010; Kagan, 2010). Post (1948) notes that several paintings by the Master of Portillo ended up in the Huntington Collection (California) and in private collections in Paris. As for Spain, the Marquess of Santillana and the Countess of Parcent included works by the Master of Portillo in their respective collections.
The collection of Spanish paintings held by the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest was primarily formed through the purchase of the Esterházy collection in 1870. This aristocratic family had been accumulating artworks since the 17th century, although the acquisition of Spanish paintings occurred under Nicholas Esterházy. Between 1818 and 1820, he purchased twenty-six Spanish paintings from Edmond Burke, the Danish ambassador to Spain, and later from Burke's widow. Therefore, it is possible that The Mass of Saint Gregory was first in the diplomat's collection and later in the Esterházy collection. The painting was likely housed in the Hungarian National Gallery in 1871 before being transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest (1906), where it remains today.
Description
Pope Saint Gregory the Great is depicted performing the Eucharistic consecration when, suddenly, Christ appears showing His stigmata, from which blood flows. Behind the Pope, two acolytes, a bishop, and a cardinal witness the scene. The Master of Portillo was one of the followers of Pedro Berruguete, which is why the composition of the canvas closely resembles those executed by Berruguete.
Locations
ca. 1520 - ca. 1800
ca. 1801 - ca. 1818
private collection
Edmond Bourke, Madrid (Spain) *
1818 - 1870
private collection
Esterházy Collection, Eisenstadt (Austria) *
ca. 1871 - ca. 1906
ca. 1906 - present
Bibliography
- ANGULO ÍÑIGUEZ, Diego (1940): "El Maestro de Portillo", nº 14, Archivo Español de Arte.
- ANGULO ÍÑIGUEZ, Diego (1952): "Nuevas obras del Maestro de Portillo", nº 25, Archivo Español de Arte.
- GARAS, Klára, GENTHON, István y TAKÁCS, Marianna Haraszti (1966): Museo de Bellas Artes de Budapest, Aguilar, Madrid, p. 23; 176.
- KAGAN, Richard (2010): "The Spanish "Craze" in the United States cultural entitlement and the appropriation of Spain's Cultural Patrimony, ca. 1890 - ca. 1930", nº 36, Revista complutense de historia de América.
- MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2011): "Raimundo Ruiz y Luis Ruiz: pioneros del mercado de antigüedades españolas en EE. UU.", nº 161, Berceo.
- MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2010): "Entre negocios y trapicheos: anticuarios, marchantes y autoridades eclesiásticas en las primeras décadas del siglo XX: el caso singular de Raimundo Ruiz", nº 3, en La dispersión de objetos artísticos fuera de España en los siglos XIX y XX, e-art Documents.
- NYERGES, Éva (2008): "Spanish Paintings", en The Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
- POST, Chandler Rathfon (1947): A History of Spanish Painting, vol. 9 (The Beginning of the Renaissance in Castile and Leon), nº 1, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts), pp. 394-413.
- PUIG SANCHÍS, Isidro (2020): "El Maestro de Portillo y el Maestro de Calzada. Sobre el dibujo subyacente y nuevas atribuciones", vol. 101, Archivo de Arte Valenciano.
- REDONDO CANTERA, María José (1991): "En torno al Maestro de Portillo: las tablas de San Miguel del Pino (Valladolid)", nº 12, Príncipe de Viana. Anejo.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "The Mass of Saint Gregory the Great" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/54
