Circle of the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend (Cologne), 'Saint Lawrence before the Prefect', about 1510
About the work
Overview
Saint Lawrence, a deacon in the early Christian church in Rome, was executed in AD 258 by the pagan Roman authorities; this painting tells the story of the events that led to his martyrdom.
The Roman prefect Decius ordered Lawrence to hand over the treasures belonging to the Church. Having already distributed these riches among the city’s poor, he gathered them instead, claiming that they were the Church’s greatest treasures. Lawrence, shown here with a large gilded halo and wearing his deacon’s robes, looks towards Decius and gestures towards the people at the bottom of the steps. The group includes a man in ragged robes, perhaps a beggar, and a woman breastfeeding her baby; in the background a disabled man moves towards the group, supported by crutches.
This painting is the fourth in a series of probably seven scenes of the life of Saint Lawrence. It is presumed that they were made for the church of Saint Lawrence in Cologne, but this is not certain.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saint Lawrence showing the Prefect the Treasures of the Church
- Artist
- Circle of the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend (Cologne)
- Artist dates
- active late 15th/early 16th century
- Date made
- about 1510
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 130.2 × 92.7 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Henry Howorth, through the Art Fund, in memory of Lady Howorth, 1922.
- Inventory number
- NG3665
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Probably originally from the church of St Lawrence in Cologne.
The painting is first recorded in 1892 as a work by ‘Dirk van Haarlem’ when it was in the collection of Charles Roberts (?wood engraver, active until 1892/8), according to whom the painting had belonged to the Schwarzschild family of Warsaw. It was acquired before 1899 by the Conservative MP, historian and geologist Sir Henry Howorth (1842–1923). At his wish it was presented to the National Gallery in 1922, through the National Art-Collections Fund, in memory of Lady Howorth (died 1921), along with NG 3817 (Italian School, Portrait of a Lady with a Dog).
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Susan Foister, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800’, London 2024; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1902C. Aldenhoven, Geschichte der Kölner Malerschule, Lübeck 1902
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1924H. Brockmann, Die Spätzeit der Kölner Malerschule, Bonn 1924
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1927H. Brockmann, 'A Picture of the Saint Laurence Legend in the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, LI, 1927, pp. 133-4
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1933P. Wescher, 'Kunsthandel', Pantheon, II, 1933
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1934A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, 11 vols, Munich 1934
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1959Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Schools, London 1959
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1967A. Stange, Der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. Kritisches Verzeichnis, Munich 1967
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1977A. Smith, Late Gothic Art from Cologne (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 5 April - 1 June 1977), London 1977
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1979C. Brockhaus and R.W. Gassen, Kunst des Mittelalters: Wilhelm-Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Landau 1979
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1986F.G. Zehnder, 'Zur Konzeption der Mittelaltar-Abteilung', Bulletins der Museum der Stadt Köln, Sonderheft 2, 1986
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1989F.G. Zehnder, Gotische Malerei in Köln: Altkölner Bilder 1300-1550, Cologne 1989
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1990F.G. Zehnder, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Köln: Katalog der Altkölner Malerei, Cologne 1990
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1997R. Billinge et al., 'Methods and Materials of Northern European Painting in the National Gallery, 1400–1550', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVIII, 1997, pp. 6-52
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2024S. Foister, National Gallery Catalogues: The German Paintings before 1800, 2 vols, London 2024
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.