Virgin and Child, with Saints Mary Magdalene, James Major, Stephen, and a Bishop Saint
Altarpiece
Allegretto di Nuzio, also called Allegretto Nuzi, Italian (active Fabriano and Florence), first documented 1345, died 1373
Geography:
Made in Italy, Europe
Date:
1346?Medium:
Tempera, silver, and tooled gold on panels with vertical grainDimensions:
Center panel: 28 3/8 x 16 1/2 inches (72.1 x 41.9 cm); Side panels [each]: 23 5/8 x 11 3/4 inches (60.0 x 29.8 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
Cat. 5Credit Line:
John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
Made in Italy, Europe
Date:
1346?Medium:
Tempera, silver, and tooled gold on panels with vertical grainDimensions:
Center panel: 28 3/8 x 16 1/2 inches (72.1 x 41.9 cm); Side panels [each]: 23 5/8 x 11 3/4 inches (60.0 x 29.8 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting
* Gallery 210, European Art 1100-1500, second floor
Accession Number:Cat. 5Credit Line:
John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
Label:
Mary Magdalene holds a jar that contained the perfume she used to bathe Christ's feet. James the Great holds a staff and scallop shell like those carried by pilgrims to his burial site in Spain. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, holds a palm frond, the symbol of martyrdom. Several stones rest on his head, a reminder that he was executed by stoning. The last saint on the right bears no clear attribute other than a bishop's robes. In the late 1800s, when the altarpiece received a new frame, the bishop was identified as Nicholas of Bari, but he is more likely Zenobius, an early bishop of Florence.
Mary Magdalene holds a jar that contained the perfume she used to bathe Christ's feet. James the Great holds a staff and scallop shell like those carried by pilgrims to his burial site in Spain. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, holds a palm frond, the symbol of martyrdom. Several stones rest on his head, a reminder that he was executed by stoning. The last saint on the right bears no clear attribute other than a bishop's robes. In the late 1800s, when the altarpiece received a new frame, the bishop was identified as Nicholas of Bari, but he is more likely Zenobius, an early bishop of Florence.
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