Antonio de Solario, 'Saint Catherine of Alexandria', 1514
Wing Panels from the Withypoll Triptych
These two panels once formed the shutters of an altarpiece in three parts, called a triptych. The two female saints flanked a central image signed by the artist (now in Bristol Museums and Art Gallery) which shows the Virgin adoring the infant Christ, who lays on a marble table resembling an altar. Kneeling before Christ is the man who commissioned the altarpiece, a London merchant called Paul Withypool.
Withypool was a powerful and influential person in the 1530s and 1540s; he served as a Member of Parliament from 1529 to 1536, sitting on various commissions. He was trusted as a supporter of the king’s policies. As a merchant, Withypool had connections with his Italian counterparts who, in turn, might have had something to do with Solario’s introduction to English society. Although we can't be sure, it is possible that Solario made this work while living in England.
These two panels once formed the shutters of an altarpiece in three parts, called a triptych. The two female saints – Ursula and Catherine of Alexandria – flanked a central image signed by Solario (now in Bristol Museums and Art Gallery) which shows the Virgin adoring the infant Christ, who lays on a marble table resembling an altar.
Kneeling before Christ is the man who commissioned the altarpiece, a London merchant called Paul Withypool. His coats of arms decorate the reverses of the two shutters, and would have been visible when the triptych was closed. Withypool was a powerful and influential person in the 1530s and 1540s, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1529 to 1536, and sitting on various commissions. He was trusted as a supporter of the king’s policies. As a merchant, he had connections with his Italian counterparts who in turn might have had something to do with Solario’s introduction to English society.
England’s mercantile connections with the Continent during the rule of the Tudor monarchs stimulated an appreciation of the work of Italian artists. Several Italian painters and sculptors, for example Guido Mazzoni and Pietro Torrigiano, were commissioned to create sculptural portraits for the royal family. By choosing Solario, Withypool was showing his discernment and taste for Italian luxury goods. We can't be sure, but it is possible that Solario may have worked in England for a time. This is the only known picture by him in the country but the poems of the humanist and antiquarian John Leland mentions works by him in English collections.
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