Samuel L. Fuller

American, 1875 - 1963

Explore Selected Works

Francesco Salviati, Portrait of a Lady, c. 1555, oil on panel, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1952.6.1

Portrait of a Lady

Francesco Salviati · c. 1555 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.6.1

Tiberio Tinelli, Lodovico Widmann, probably 1637, oil on canvas, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1946.6.1

Lodovico Widmann

Tiberio Tinelli · probably 1637 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1946.6.1

A central panel showing a woman holding a baby is flanked by slightly smaller panels, which each show a man. All three adults are shown from the hips up in front of gold backgrounds and have pale skin and gold halos. Gilded molding creates a pointed arch over each man and over the woman and baby. Each panel also has a triangular top, and a person, tiny in relation to the main figures below, is tucked into each pointed tip. Those smaller figures also have gold halos and are shown from the hips up in front of gold backgrounds. In the center panel, the woman’s body is angled slightly to our right, but she looks off to our left from the corners of her brown eyes. Her thin eyebrows are low over her almond-shaped eyes, and she has a long, straight nose and a narrow, square jaw. Her blond hair is mostly covered by a dark blue cloak, which is edged in gold and lined in leaf green. Her white dress underneath is also lined with gold along the neckline. The baby wraps one arm around her neck and grips the neckline of her dress with the other. He has a round face but with an adult-like nose and lips. His blond hair curls in short layers over his ears. He wears a pink robe tied with a white sash. The robe has scallop-edged, short sleeves over coral-red long sleeves, also edged with gold. The woman supports the baby’s bottom with one hand and holds one of his bare feet with her other. The third person on this panel, in the pointed peak, is a clean-shaven man with long, wavy blond hair. His body and face are square to us, but he looks off to our right from the corners of his eyes. He wears a pale blue robe under a rose-pink cloak. He braces an open book so the written text on the splayed pages faces us with one hand. His other is lifted with the first two fingers raised. In the left panel, a bearded man holds two oversized gold skeleton keys and a book. His body is angled slightly to our right, but he looks off to our left from the corners of his brown eyes. He has a thin nose with a rounded tip, full pink lips, and a full gray beard. His gray hair is cut into a ring around his head. He wears a sky-blue robe, and his buttercup-yellow cloak is lined with coral red. Both are edged with gold. In the peak above him, a man has long light brown hair and a beard. He wears a pale blue robe under a raspberry-red cloak. He holds a dark yellow book in one hand and a staff with the other. In the right panel, a clean-shaven man’s body is angled slightly to our left, but he looks off to our right from the corners of his brown eyes. He has a thin nose with a rounded tip, full pink lips, and a cleft in his round chin. His blond hair is cut into a ring around his head. His red robe is edged with gold and has rectangular gold patches on the sleeves. A white ruffled collar stands high but loosely around his neck. He braces the book, which has a slate-blue cover and canary-yellow pages, in one hand and holds a palm frond painted with yellow and spring green in the other. The person above is balding with a long gray beard and wears a muted purple robe under a black cloak. He holds a red book in one hand and a crutch with the other. The gold backgrounds are rubbed in some areas to show the red layer beneath, especially under the pointed arches.
Martino di Bartolomeo, Madonna and Child with the Blessing Christ, and Saints Peter, James Major, Anthony Abbott, and a Deacon Saint [entire triptych], c. 1415/1420, tempera on panel, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1950.11.1.a-c

Madonna and Child with the Blessing Christ, and Saints Peter, James Major, Anthony Abbott, and a Deacon Saint [entire triptych]

Martino di Bartolomeo · c. 1415/1420 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1950.11.1.a-c

Shown from the hips up, a pale-skinned, clean-shaven man holds a palm frond and a book in front of a gold background in this vertical painting, which has a triangular top. The person’s body is angled slightly to our left, but he looks off to our right from the corners of his brown eyes. He has a thin nose with a rounded tip, full pink lips, and a cleft in his round chin. His blond hair is cut into a ring around his head. His red robe is edged with gold and has rectangular gold patches on the sleeves. A white ruffled collar stands high but loosely around his neck. He braces the book, which has a slate-blue cover and canary-yellow pages, in one hand and holds a palm frond painted with yellow and spring green in the other. The man’s gold halo is punched into the gold background, and gilded molding creates a pointed arch over him. A second person, tiny in scale, is shown from the waist up in the tip of the panel. This man is balding with a long gray beard. He wears a muted purple robe under a black cloak. He holds a red book in one hand and a crutch with the other. He also looks off to our right, has a halo, and is in front of a gold background.
Martino di Bartolomeo, Deacon Saint, with Saint Anthony Abbot [right panel], c. 1415/1420, tempera on panel, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1950.11.1.c

Deacon Saint, with Saint Anthony Abbot [right panel]

Martino di Bartolomeo · c. 1415/1420 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1950.11.1.c

Shown from the hips up, a pale-skinned, bearded man holds two oversized gold skeleton keys and a book in front of a gold background in this vertical painting, which has a triangular top. The person’s body is angled slightly to our right, but he looks off to our left from the corners of his brown eyes. He has a thin nose with a rounded tip, full pink lips, and full gray beard. His gray hair is cut into a ring around his head. He wears a sky-blue robe, and his buttercup-yellow cloak is lined with coral red. Both are edged with gold. He braces the book, which has a moss-green cover and white pages, in one hand and holds the two keys up in the other. The man’s gold halo is punched into the gold background, and gilded molding creates a pointed arch over him. A second person, tiny in scale, is shown from the waist up in the tip of the panel. This man has long light brown hair and a beard. He wears a pale blue robe under a raspberry-red cloak. He holds a dark yellow book in one hand and a staff with the other. He looks down to our right, has a halo, and is in front of a gold background.
Martino di Bartolomeo, Saint Peter, with Saint James Major [left panel], c. 1415/1420, tempera on panel, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1950.11.1.a

Saint Peter, with Saint James Major [left panel]

Martino di Bartolomeo · c. 1415/1420 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1950.11.1.a

Shown from the hips up, a woman holds a baby up so they are cheek-to-cheek in front of a gold background in this vertical painting, which has a triangular top. Both have pale skin and pink-flushed cheeks. The woman’s body is angled slightly to our right, but she looks off to our left from the corners of her brown eyes. Her thin eyebrows are low over her almond-shaped eyes, and she has a long, straight nose and a narrow, square jaw. Her blond hair is mostly covered by a dark blue cloak, which is edged in gold and lined in leaf green. Her white dress underneath is also lined with gold along the neckline. The baby wraps one arm around her neck and grips the neckline of her dress with the other. He has a round face but with an adult-like nose and lips. His blond hair curls in short layers over his ears. He wears a pink robe tied with a white sash. The robe has scallop-edged, short sleeves over coral-red long sleeves, also edged with gold. The woman supports the baby’s bottom with one hand and holds one of his bare feet with her other. Their halos are punched into the gold background, and gilded molding creates a pointed arch over the pair. A third person, tiny in scale, is shown from the waist up in the tip of the panel. This man has long, wavy blond hair and is clean-shaven. His body and face are square to us, but he looks off to our right from the corners of his eyes. He wears a pale blue robe under a rose-pink cloak. He braces an open book so the written text on the splayed pages faces us with one hand. His other is lifted by his chest with the first two fingers raised. He also has a halo and is in front of a gold background. The gold background is rubbed in some areas to show the red layer beneath it, especially under the pointed arch.
Martino di Bartolomeo, Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], c. 1415/1420, tempera on panel, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1950.11.1.b

Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]

Martino di Bartolomeo · c. 1415/1420 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1950.11.1.b

Shown from the waist up on the far side of a table or ledge, a man with a pale, olive complexion rests his arm alongside a small white dog lying on the ledge in this vertical portrait painting. The scene has an overall honey-colored hue over a palette dominated by blacks, olive green, and gold-tinged ivory white. To our right in the composition, the man’s body is angled to our left and he looks out at us from the corners of his dark eyes. He has a straight nose and high cheekbones. A mustache and trimmed beard frame his pink lips, which curve slightly up at the corners. His brown hair is brushed back from a pointed widow’s peak on his forehead, and it blends into the dark olive-green curtain hanging behind him. The high corners of his black robe are connected with a gold chain, and the robe comes to a V over a white shirt. His left hand, on our right, rests on the ledge, near the bottom of the composition. A small dog with pointed ears and shaggy, ivory-white fur is tucked behind the man’s arm, its left paw between the man’s thumb and forefinger. A shaft of black and gold indicate the hilt of a sword, presumably hung from the man’s waist. To our left, a dusty rose-pink book stands on a brown box. Upon closer inspection, an inscription has been painted in black on the upper right corner of the box: “VICO LO OPUS AETA.” Beyond the book, a view of a landscape through an open window fills the upper left quadrant of the composition. A person wearing a long brown robe stands on a path that zigzags into the distance, past dark green bushes and trees. Ice-blue, jagged mountains line the horizon. The sky above the mountains is parchment white and bands of slate-blue clouds fill in the top of our view.
Cariani, Portrait of a Man with a Dog, c. 1520, oil on canvas, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1950.11.2

Portrait of a Man with a Dog

Cariani · c. 1520 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1950.11.2

Anonymous Artist, Andrea Renier and His Son Daniele, c. 1560/1566, oil on canvas, Gift of Samuel L. Fuller, 1951.15.1

Andrea Renier and His Son Daniele

Anonymous Artist · c. 1560/1566 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1951.15.1

Bibliography

1963

  • The New York Times 20 November 1963:L+40 [obituary]