Catalan school from the second half of the 15th century. "Saint Stephen", ca. 1480. Egg tempera on table and gold background.

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Old Masters

By Setdart Auction House

Jun 30, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-30 08:30:00 2021-06-30 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Old Masters https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7134
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• Lot Description
  Catalan school from the second half of the 15th century. "Saint Stephen", ca. 1480. Egg tempera on table and gold background. Measurements: 154 x 79 cm; 161 x 85.5 cm (total) Gothic panel from the 15th century with a frame topped by a poly-lobed arch. It is the representation of St. Stephen, staged standing and haloed, in frontal position. The saint carries in his left hand the stones of stoning, these in turn resting on the gospel. Also, in the other hand, the palm that identifies him as a martyr. Formally this work already shows us an important advance with respect to the international Gothic style that dominated the panorama in all Europe during the 14th century. Thus, although the line continues to maintain its prominence, a more naturalistic representation of the volumes begins to be sought, and attention is paid to detail and quality that responds to a direct Flemish influence. However, the panel maintains the full body, a resource that monumentalizes the figure and makes it more corporeal, losing the stylization of the previous century. We also see the attention to detail of Flemish origin in areas such as the hair, painted almost hair by hair, the palm or the tiles that make up the floor. The deacon Stephen, whose name means crown, was the first martyr of the Christian faith, who was stoned by the Jews, who accused him of blaspheming Moses. According to a 10th century manuscript dedicated to his biography, on the day he was born he was snatched away by Satan, who replaced him in his cradle with a small demon. He then left the child girdled at the door of a bishop named Julion, who discovered the child being suckled by a white doe and adopted him. Some time later Stephen returned to his father's house, and with the sign of the cross expelled the demon that occupied his place. Ordained deacon by the apostles, he argued with the Jewish rhetoricians, who had him arrested and condemned for blasphemy to death by stoning. Regarding his patronages, he belongs to the category of holy healers, and was considered to have the power to heal ringworm. Because of the stones from his stoning, he was invoked against stones and headaches. In Germanic countries, the legend attributed him to have been the stableman of King Herod, so he was considered the patron saint of horses, coachmen and drivers. He was also the patron of slingers, because of his stoning. St. Stephen has as main attributes, from the 15th century, a book or a sheet and the stones of his stoning, as we see here.
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