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Lot Essay
This imposing triptych was first recorded in the sale, in Rome, of the Banca Popolare e Cassa di Risparmio di Genova of 1895, where it was erroneously described as a Sienese school work of the fifteenth century (see provenance). The austerity and monumentality of the figures, together with the restrained emotional features and post-plague punchmarks instead indicate an indebtedness to key Florentine workshops of the late fourteenth century. Mauro Natale, in private communication dated 29 January 1994, pointed out the specific influence of the late designs of Jacopo di Cione, who took over the workshop of his older brother Andrea in 1368, noting in particular the similarities to the Madonna and Child with Saints of 1391 (Honolulu, Hawaii, Academy of Arts; reproduced M. Boskovits, Pittura Fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento 1370-1400, Florence, 1975, fig. 92b). Miklós Boskovits, in private communication dated 25 February 1994, proposed that the artist was probably a follower or workshop companion of Mariotto di Nardo, and assigns to the same hand a Madonna of Humility in the National Museum, Warsaw, and the Madonna and Child with Six Saints in Christ Church, Oxford (inv. no. 16; reproduced J. Byam Shaw, Paintings by Old Masters at Christ Church Oxford, 1967, p. 37, no. 16).
Although the panels were presented as a joined triptych in the 1895 sale, and subsequently separated into three panels, it cannot be excluded that they formed part of a larger polyptych, whose other constituent parts are yet to be discovered. Saint Peter here wears a mitre and ecclesiastical vestments, referring to his traditional identification as the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope. The date of 14[3]8 on the lower part of the central panel was added after the date of execution.
The picture passed into the collection of Dr. Hanns Teichert (1901-1993), who was born in Dresden but emigrated to the USA in the 1920s. He soon gained success as an interior decorator and architect, working as a set designer in Broadway and Hollywood. He was responsible for the ornate decorations in numerous Balaban & Katz movie theatres all over the country. In time, he built a conspicuous art collection, mostly comprised of Italian and French pictures and sculptures, as well as featuring the largest number of works by Diego Rivera (then privately owned). His interest in paintings went hand in hand with his work as a decorator, as he supplied paintings for his clients and for places of worship. In 1956, his collection, including the present lot, was transferred to a fourteenth century Franciscan monastery in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which Teichert bought as a gallery.
Although the panels were presented as a joined triptych in the 1895 sale, and subsequently separated into three panels, it cannot be excluded that they formed part of a larger polyptych, whose other constituent parts are yet to be discovered. Saint Peter here wears a mitre and ecclesiastical vestments, referring to his traditional identification as the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope. The date of 14[3]8 on the lower part of the central panel was added after the date of execution.
The picture passed into the collection of Dr. Hanns Teichert (1901-1993), who was born in Dresden but emigrated to the USA in the 1920s. He soon gained success as an interior decorator and architect, working as a set designer in Broadway and Hollywood. He was responsible for the ornate decorations in numerous Balaban & Katz movie theatres all over the country. In time, he built a conspicuous art collection, mostly comprised of Italian and French pictures and sculptures, as well as featuring the largest number of works by Diego Rivera (then privately owned). His interest in paintings went hand in hand with his work as a decorator, as he supplied paintings for his clients and for places of worship. In 1956, his collection, including the present lot, was transferred to a fourteenth century Franciscan monastery in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which Teichert bought as a gallery.