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European Art before 1900

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Image of Saint Nicholas of Bari

Bookmark: https://collection.sdmart.org/objects-1/info/1615

Saint Nicholas of Bari

Giovanni Bonsi, Italian, (active 1351–1371)
previously attributed to Bernardo Cione (AKA Leonardo Cione), Italian (Florentine), (active 1350–1360)

Creation date: ca. 1360-1365
Creation place: Italy

Other Information

Type: Tempera Painting
Medium and Support: Tempera on panel
Credit Line: Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam and commemorating the Silver Jubilee Celebration of Fine Arts Society
Accession Number: 1950.89
State/Province: Florence
Dimensions: 44 1/4 in. x 25 5/8 in. x 2 1/2 in. (112.4 cm x 65.09 cm x 6.35 cm)

Provenance

Helbing, Munich, Bavaria, Germany ( - )

Jacob M. Heimann, New York, New York ( - 1950)

Countess Quadt-Wykradt-Isny, Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany ( - March 26, 1914)

Sangiorgi, Rome, Italy (March 26, 1914 - )

Nicholas Roecich Museum, New York, New York (1920 - March 27, 1930)

American Art Association, New York, New York (March 27, 1930 - March 28, 1930)

Anne R. and Amy Putnam, San Diego, California (1950 - 1950)

San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California (1950 - )

Label Copy

Giovanni Bonsi was part of a group of artists in Florence who continued in the later 14th century the monumental new style that Giotto had pioneered in years just after 1300. This is evident in the weighty corporality of Saint Nicholas, which might be contrasted with the still-stylized figures of the roughly contemporary painting by the Master of the Christ Church Coronation shown nearby. The solid form of the saint is combined, though, with the beautifully detailed punchwork that ornaments his elaborately patterned robe and the gold ground of the panel. Following the usual convention of Italian artists, Nicholas is shown dressed as a bishop, and he carries three golden balls, a reference to the gifts he made to provide a wedding dowry for the three daughters of a poor man.
The panel is the right wing of a triptych that was taken apart in the 19th century. The central section, depicting the Madonna and Child, is now in the Denver Art Museum, and the left wing, with Saint John the Baptist, is in a private collection.
Last Updated: 11/29/2022

Exhibition

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Art of Devotion The San Diego Museum of Art , 1/28/2016 - 00/00/00

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972
Page Number: 32

Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972
Page Number: 435

Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972
Page Number: 632

The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego Catalogue: San Diego Museum of Art. San Diego, California, 1960
Page Number: 55

Miklós Boskovits. Pittura Fiorentina: alla vigilia del Rinascimento, 1370-1400 Editrice Edam. Firenze, Italia, 1975
Page Number: 31

Miklós Boskovits. Pittura Fiorentina: alla vigilia del Rinascimento, 1370-1400 Editrice Edam. Firenze, Italia, 1975
Page Number: 319, 321

Miklós Boskovits. Pittura Fiorentina: alla vigilia del Rinascimento, 1370-1400 Editrice Edam. Firenze, Italia, 1975
Page Number: 846, Figure Number: 33 (detail)

Simona Pasquinucci and Barbara Deimling. A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting: Giunti Gruppo Editoriale. Florence, Italy, 2000
Page Number: 21, 25-26 N.71 and N.73, 28

Simona Pasquinucci and Barbara Deimling. A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting: Giunti Gruppo Editoriale. Florence, Italy, 2000
Page Number: 38, 81, 82, 83, 84, Figure Number: 12 (6-7)

Federico Zeri. Bollettino d'Arte, Instituto Poligrafico dello Stato. July, 1964-September, 1964
Page Number: 225-228, Figure Number: 4

Brigitte Klesse. Seidenstoffee in der Italianischen Malerei: Schriften der Abegg-Stiftlung. Bern, Suisse, 1967
Page Number: 300, no. 210a

Brigitte Klesse. Seidenstoffee in der Italianischen Malerei: Schriften der Abegg-Stiftlung. Bern, Suisse, 1967
Page Number: 344, no. 283c

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European Art before 1900

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