Title

Saint Peter, Saint Andrew and Saint Matthew

Anónimo castellano

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Object history

No information is available regarding the provenance of these panels, although they appear to come from the predella of an old altarpiece. They have been attributed to various artists: Post (1941) believed they were the work of the Master of Palanquinos, an artist active in León during the last quarter of the 15th century. This was not the only work that the American scholar attributed to him, as he also claimed that a predella with scenes from the Passion, which was part of the Torbado Collection in León, was likewise by him (Post, 1933). In the catalog of the Museo Nacional de San Carlos (1958), edited by Fernando Leal, the panels are described as works belonging to the 14th-century Spanish school. Later, in the volume *European Masters in the San Carlos Galleries of Mexico*, published by the Fondo Editorial de la Plástica Mexicana (1963), the pieces were attributed to the 14th-century Aragonese school.

Although Post’s (1941) attribution to the Master of Palanquins was widely accepted (Gaya, 1958; Gual, 1973; Pérez, 2000; Santonja, 2004; Franco, 2010), the studies by Ballesté Escorihuela (2017; 2019) diverge from this hypothesis. He considers that “the background, the gilding patterns, and the human figures are elements that do not at all correspond to the painter from León” (Ballesté, 2017). Furthermore, the Master of Palanquinos typically endowed his figures with a watery, lost gaze and drooping eyelids—a trait not found in these panels.

He compared the simple and rough forms of these panels with the paintings on the Bayonne predella (The Savior, Saint Peter, and Saint John the Evangelist), which were attributed to the Master of Palanquinos by Post (1950) and recently placed within the circle of Diego de la Cruz (Ballesté, 2019). Although there is no consensus regarding the authorship of the panels, they follow a style that had spread throughout the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, Palencia, Valladolid, and Zamora in the second half of the 15th century. Therefore, it seems plausible to assume that they originated in what is now Castilla y León. This collection was acquired by the Museo Nacional de San Carlos (Mexico) in the second quarter of the 20th century and is currently housed there.

Description

There are three figures depicted in the panels: in the first, Saint Peter is shown holding a set of keys and a book; in the central panel, Saint Andrew is also holding a book, with the cross of his martyrdom resting on his shoulder; finally, on the left is Saint Matthew clutching a book with both hands, likely alluding to his Gospel. All three panels feature a richly decorated gilded background; however, there is a difference in the architectural setting framing the figures: Saint Peter and Saint Andrew are set against a greenish background, while Saint Matthew is depicted against a pinkish architectural setting.

Locations

• XV^th c.

  region

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

• XX^th c. - present

  museum

  National Museum of San Carlos, Ciudad de México (Mexico)