Item | Waddesdon Manor

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artist or maker

Spanish School

previously attributed to Umbrian School

Date

1500-1525

dated stistically

Place of production

Spain

Medium

tempera on panel

Type of object

paintings
altarpieces

Accession number

815

A fragment from a large altarpiece showing St Michael weighing two people's souls. St Michael appears full-length, front on, his body curving slightly to the right. He wears classical style armour, with lion epaulets. His helmet is curved with a pointed top and a red chinstrap. He has red wings. He holds the scales in his right hand in front of his body. His left hand is raised above his head. He holds in it a flag, just visible at upper right, its staff resting on the belly of a small dragon on the ground, its head cropped on the left. The dragon's tail curls round the Saint's left leg. In the pans of the scales, stand a naked woman, on the left, and man, on the right. They look up at the Saint and hold their hands in a position of prayer. The scales tip slightly to the left. The dragon pulls the woman's pan down with its claw. Behind there is a pink wall with hills visible beyond and a tree to the left. There is also a ledge on the left. A horse rider appears on the hill at upper right.

Saint Michael decides the fate of two souls in this fragment of a larger work. It is believed to be by a Hispano-Flemish artist who may have known the work of Bartolomé Bermejo (c. 1440-c.1501), a Spanish artist heavily influenced by Flemish techniques. The style of the armour suggests it was made somewhat later than Bermejo's work, demonstrating awareness of Italian interest in the classical world.

Commentary

Roman Catholics believe that on the Day of Judgement, at the end of the world, Saint Michael will weigh the souls of the dead to decide whether they will be saved or damned. The woman on the left weighs heavier than the man on the right, suggesting her soul is more burdened with vice. The dragon, representation of the Devil and sin, pulls down her pan with a claw.

Saint Michael stands on the dragon, his flag-pole planted in its belly. Saint Michael is often depicted in armour, defeating the Devil in this way, as he appears in the Book of Revelation as the principal fighter against the devil. Saint Michel is believed to be so powerful that he can even rescue souls from Hell. The garden behind the wall in the background probably represents Heaven, destination for the saved. The panel has been cropped on the left side.

Bartolomé Bermejo was active in Aragon, including in Valencia. His style was influential and many other artists from this region similarly drew on Flemish forms of composition and painting. Saint Michael's cuirass is of classical Roman style. This Italianate feature may have been why the painting was thought to be from Umbria when it was sold in 1884 in the posthumous sale of William Russell, the youngest son of Charlotte Anne Child-Villiers and Lord William Russell.

Phillippa Plock, 2012

Physical description

Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)

1352 x 426
1300 x 385 - sight

Signature & date

not signed or dated

Marks

82b
Stamp
on verso, stencil

Inscriptions

3[?] 59M
Inscription
on verso, paint

815 H
Inscription
on verso, on upper cross piece, painted

Labels

W. RUSSELL ESQ.
MA ...
Printed label
on verso, half effaced printed label

75
Label
on verso, label, 19th century

History

Provenance

Owned by William Russell (b.1800, d.1884); sold in the William Russell sale, Christie's, London, 6 December 1884, lot 213 as 'Umbrian School. St Michael standing on the Dragon, holding a balance'; acquired by Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922); inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by The Treasury Solicitor in lieu of taxes on the Estate of Mr James de Rothschild in 1963; given to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1990.

Collection

Waddesdon (National Trust)
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990

Bibliography

Ellis Waterhouse, Anthony Blunt; Paintings: The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre, The National Trust; 1967; p. 330, cat. no. 167; dated 1500-1525

Indexed terms

Subjects

Genres

Religious Subjects/Genres

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