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Inscription

on the moldings above the painting, probably from the early 1900s: S. Dionisus; S. Sebastianus; S. Barba[r]a; S. Laurentius

Provenance

William Salomon [1852-1919], New York; (his estate sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 4-7 April 1923, 2nd day, no. 358, as by Spanish School, seventeenth century); T.R. Williams, New York;[1] sold to William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York; by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959], New York; bequest 1960 to NGA.

Technical Summary

The original supports are vertically oriented wood panels, composed of two to three members. These panels have been set into inner and outer carved, gilt, and painted frames. Only the arches, spandrels, and inscribed moldings of the inner frames are original. All other parts of the frames probably date from the early twentieth century. The outer frames have been hinged to form a screen. The panels have a thick white gesso ground. Red bole was applied under the gilded areas. The paint appears to be oil but may be tempera. Thick paint can be noted in the lighter tones and in the glazed designs on the gold borders of the mantles. Thin, curvilinear strokes predominate in all other areas. The curtains, halos, and borders of the mantles are gold leaf, decorated in places with punchwork. The paintings are in very poor condition. The panel supports are warped and are traversed by vertical checks. Vertical cleavage riddles the paint, and the ground and paint layers have suffered many small losses. The fills are extensive and disfiguring, and the overpaint and surface coatings are discolored. The original elements of the frames are badly worm eaten.

Bibliography

1923
"Salomon sale, totaling $1,292,847, Third Largest in America." Art News 21 (14 April 1923): 4.
1923
"Salomon Sale, totaling $1,292,847, Third Largest in America." Art News 21 (14 April, 1923): 4.
1960
Canaday, John. "Flip of Coin Helps Divide Fortune In Art." New York Times 15 May (1960): 77.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 30, repro.
1990
Brown, Jonathan, and Richard G. Mann. Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1990: 140-141, repro. 142-143.

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