Giovanni Bellini, 'A Dominican, with the Attributes of Saint Peter Martyr', about 1490-1500
About the work
Overview
In 1252 Saint Peter Martyr, a Dominican friar from Verona, was assassinated in an ambush by a group of heretics. This picture was once thought to be a ‘portrait’ of the saint: we can see the hilt of a dagger which has been plunged into his heart, and a cleaver lodged in his head.
X-ray imagery shows that these objects were painted over the picture about 100 years after it was first made. It’s difficult to see the picture’s true quality as the painted surface is quite damaged. The underdrawing (the preliminary outlining of a composition), however, shows a very delicate and detailed drawing of the friar’s facial features, which matches Bellini’s sophisticated technique towards the end of his career.
The image may have been altered to show a saint, rather than an unknown Dominican friar, to make it more appealing to a potential buyer.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Dominican, with the Attributes of Saint Peter Martyr
- Artist
- Giovanni Bellini
- Artist dates
- about 1435 - 1516
- Date made
- about 1490-1500
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 59.1 × 48.3 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1870
- Inventory number
- NG808
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
Formerly in the collection of the Marchese Sommi-Picenardi at the Torri de’ Picenardi, near Cremona, where it is recorded ca. 1827. The collection passed by inheritance to the Marchese Araldi Erizzo; his creditors sold this and other pictures in 1869 to Basilini of Milan, from whom purchased, 1870.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2010Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and DiscoveriesThe National Gallery (London)30 June 2010 - 12 September 2010
Bibliography
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1883G. Morelli, Italian Masters in German Galleries, London 1883
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1907D. Hadeln, 'Zu Gentile Bellini in der National Gallery in London', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XXX, 1907, pp. 536-7
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1909G. Sommi-Picenardi, Le Torri de' Picenardi, Modena 1909
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1930G. Gronau, Giovanni Bellini, Stuttgart 1930
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1950M. Davies, 'Un dipinto Belliniano radiografato a Londra', Arte veneta, 1950
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1956J. Walker, Bellini and Titian at Ferrara, London 1956
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1959R. Pallucchini, Giovanni Bellini, Milan 1959
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1962F. Heinemann, Giovanni Bellini e i Belliniani, 3 vols, Venice 1962
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1968G. Robertson, Giovanni Bellini, Oxford 1968
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1985J. Meyer zur Capellen, Gentile Bellini, Stuttgart 1985
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1989R. Goffen, Giovanni Bellini, New Haven 1989
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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.
Images
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