Title

King David

Berruguete, Pedro [attributed to] (Paredes de Nava, ca. 1445 - Madrid, ca. 1503)

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

One of the most prominent figures in the art and antiques trade in Spain in the early 20th century was Raimundo Ruiz. Thanks to photographs from the Moreno archive, now preserved at the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage, it is possible to trace some of the works he sold in the United States. (Martínez Ruiz, 2022).

On the occasion of theBarcelona International Exposition, held in 1929, numerous pieces from his collection—as well as from that of his brother Luis Ruiz—were exhibited, serving as a showcase that enabled them to sell numerous lots of Spanish antiques in the United States (Martínez Ruiz, 2011). Among the objects on display were several panel paintings by Pedro Berruguete, including this one. In the 1940s, researchers Laínez (1943) and Post (1947) provided further information about this group of works. In fact, it was the American Hispanist who stated in Volume IX of*A History of Spanish Painting* that the ensemble came from an altarpiece dedicated to the Life of the Virgin.

Although the altarpiece was dismantled, nine panels known to have been part of it are still extant:

• King Solomon. Since 1971, it has been housed in Falaise, a residence managed by the Nassau County Department of Parks and Recreation in the United States (Young, 1975).
• King David. The panel is housed at Bowdin College in the United States.
• The Prophet Isaiah. In 1975, Young located this panel in Madrid (Spain); however, after tracing the piece, we have confirmed thatit was put up for sale in 2011, and its current whereabouts are unknown. 
• The Prophet Jeremiah. In 1975, Young located this panel in Madrid, Spain.
• The Nativity of the Virgin. It was acquired in 1948 by Abbot Escarré and is currently housed in the Montserrat Abbey Museum.
• The Visitation. The last information on its whereabouts was provided by Young in 1975, who stated that it was in Madrid, Spain. Its current whereabouts are unknown (Silva, 2003). 
• The Annunciation. Currently housed at the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts (Spain). 
• The Dormition. It was acquired in 1948 by Abbot Escarré and is currently housed in the museum at Montserrat Abbey.
• Assumption of the Virgin. It is housed at the Davis Museum atWellesley College in the United States.

In addition to these nine panels, the Museum of Pontevedra houses a painting by Pedro Berruguete depicting the Marriage of the Virgin. The dimensions of the work (144 x 91 cm) match those of the panels depicting the life of the Virgin, as do the subject matter and the date. Therefore, we propose the hypothesis that it may also have been part of the set.

Although the provenance of the altarpiece is unknown, it seems plausible to conclude that Berruguete created it during his stay in Palencia, given the similarities between the figures in the predella and those in other works executed by the painter in the 1480s–1490s, such as the altarpiece of Santa Eulalia in Paredes de Nava (Palencia). These panels were part of an earlier altarpiece dedicated to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, on which Alejo de Vahía likely collaborated as a sculptor (Zalama, 1988). Inocencio Berruguete and his brother-in-law, Esteban Jordán, were responsible for the new altarpiece, placing Pedro Berruguete’s six panels depicting the saints of Judah on the predella (Zalama, 2013). Returning to the disassembled panels, Young (1975) dated them to around 1485 based on their Italianate elements, the treatment of perspective, the spatial organization, and the modeling of the figures. It should be noted that around this time, in addition to the altarpiece in Paredes de Nava, Berruguete also created the one in Becerril de Campos (Palencia).  

After being separated, nine of the panels that had formed part of the altarpiece depicting the Life of the Virgin ended up in the hands of the Ruiz brothers (Laínez, 1943; Post, 1947), who ran an antiques business in Madrid (Martínez Ruiz, 2011). They made several trips to the Castilian dioceses with the aim of meeting the demands of the North American market, becoming pioneers in the international antiquities trade (Martínez Ruiz, 2010). 

On December 9, 1925, Raimundo Ruiz sold five of the panels (lots 739A–739E) at an auction held atAmerican Art Galleries (New York): The Visitation, The Nativity of the Virgin, The Dormition, The Assumption of the Virgin, and Solomon (December 9, 1925, “Spanish Antiquities; pottery tiles, furniture, ironwork, lamps, paintings, etc., American Art”). In contrast, the panel depicting King David was acquired before 1940 by Alberto José Pani, a prominent Mexican collector who purchased the painting directly from the Ruiz brothers (Pani, 1940). Just a few years earlier, Pani had acquired another work by Pedro Berruguete: The Adoration of the Magi.

The work was later resold through the Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Gallery and purchased on April 22, 1950, by Samuel H. Kress (Walker Art Museum, Bowdoin College—K1708—Box: 11, Folder: 41). Finally, the Kress Foundation donated the panel depicting King David to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (United States) in 1961, where it remains today.

Description

The painting depicts King David in a half-length, frontal view. He is richly attired and holds a scepter in one hand, which underscores his status as king. In his other hand, he holds a book from which emerges a phylactery bearing the following inscription:“h[a]ec requiere mea in seculum seculi / hic habitabit qm elegi eam.” This phrase comes from Psalm 132:14 (“This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have chosen it”). The instrument on the left alludes to the tradition that portrays David as a musician and the author of the Psalms. The scene is framed by two columns and a gilded tapestry.

Locations

• Last quarter of the XV^th c.

  region

  Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Castilla y León (Spain)

• First quarter of the XX^th c.

  dealer/antiquarian

  Raimundo Ruiz, Madrid (Spain) *

• Second quarter of the XX^th c.

  private collection

  Alberto José Pani, Ciudad de México (Mexico) *

• ca. 1950 - ca. 1951

  dealer/antiquarian

  Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Gallerie, New York (United States) *

• ca. 1951 - 1961

  private collection

  Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York (United States) *

• 1961 - present

  museum

  Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick (United States)