Provenance

Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud

Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne

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This painting shows the upper body of a man with his body turned to us and his head looking to the left. The man has short, reddish-brown hair, light skin, rosy cheeks, arched eyebrows, and a small mouth in a neutral expression. He is wearing a dark purple garment with some designs around the neckline under a bright orange robe that is draped over his shoulders. He holds the edge of the robe in his right hand and is holding a red book in his left hand. A golden halo surrounds his head. The background is textured gold, and the painting is framed in a black arched frame.
Simone Martini, Saint Judas Thaddeus, c. 1315/1320, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.26

Saint Judas Thaddeus

Simone Martini · c. 1315/1320 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.26

Shown from the waist up, a pale-skinned, bearded man faces us against a shiny gold background on this arched, vertical panel. The wooden panel is rounded at the top and has a wooden frame, which is painted gold along the bottom. The man’s skin has a greenish cast, but his cheeks and forehead are rosy. He has wavy, honey-brown hair and a long, forked beard. With his head tilted slightly to our right, the man looks up and off in that direction with gray eyes. He has a narrow, straight nose, a thin pink mouth, and small ears. He holds a red book in front of his chest with his right hand, to our left. The book has brown hinges, and the edges of the pages are gold. In his other hand, he grasps a wooden staff tied at the top with a small, black, square flag displaying a petal-pink scallop shell. His harvest-yellow cloak drapes over his shoulders, across his body, and over his left arm. Under the cloak, he wears a black tunic with wide gold trim patterned with starburst-like forms within pointed ovals along the neckline and sleeves. A double ringed halo punched with a flower pattern surrounds the man’s head against the glimmering gold background. There is a noticeable network of cracks across the painting's surface, especially on the gold background behind the man. Inscriptions next to his shoulders read “SATVS” on our left and “YACOBVS” on our right.
Simone Martini, Saint James Major, c. 1315/1320, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.25

Saint James Major

Simone Martini · c. 1315/1320 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.25

This painting shows the upper body of a man. The man has short, dark, wavy hair and a beard, and he wears a green robe over a dark garment with a neckline decorated with a gold pattern. He looks to the left, and has pale skin, rosy cheeks, arched eyebrows, and thin lips. He is holding a light blue book in his hands. Behind him, the background is golden, and there is an ornate halo surrounding his head. The words "SANTUS SYMON" are on either side of the man's head in a dark script. The painting is framed in a dark, arched border.
Simone Martini, Saint Simon, c. 1315/1320, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.24

Saint Simon

Simone Martini · c. 1315/1320 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.24

This painting shows a man from the waist up, facing us. The man has pale yellow skin, rosy cheeks, a long, straight nose, brown eyes, a full gray beard, and wavy gray hair. He wears a light red garment with intricate designs along the neckline under a pale green outer cloak. In his left hand, he holds an open red book and a black inkpot. His right hand holds a quill pen. A halo with a detailed pattern surrounds the man's head. The background is a gold surface within an arched black wooden frame.
Simone Martini, Saint Matthew, c. 1315/1320, tempera on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.23

Saint Matthew

Simone Martini · c. 1315/1320 · tempera on panel ·  Accession ID  1952.5.23