Retable of Saint Andrew

Artist Master of Geria (Spanish, active about 1450-1490)

Place of OriginSpain (Castile)

Dateabout 1475-1500

Dimensions(A) H: 33 1/4 in. (84.4 cm); W: 15 5/8 in. (39.6 cm).
(B) H: 36 1/4 in. (92 cm); W: 23 in. (58.3 cm).
(C) H: 33 3/8 in. (84.6 cm); W: 15 7/8 in. (40.3 cm).
(D) H: 33 1/4 in. (84.5 cm); W: 15 3/4 in. (40 cm).
(E) H: 45 3/4 in. (166.2 cm); W: 23 3/8 in. (59.3 cm).
(F) H: 33 1/8 in. (84.2 cm); W: 15 3/4 in. (40 cm).

MediumOil on wood panel.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1955.214A-F

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 10

Label TextThe uppermost panel of this altarpiece presents Christ’s crucifixion witnessed by the Virgin Mary and Saint John. To the right, Saint Catherine kneels in prayer before the spiked wheels of her martyrdom, which angels hack to pieces. Below, a kneeling female donor is accompanied by a bishop saint, probably her patron saint. She prays with the aid of a rosary before the dominating figure of Saint Andrew in the lower central panel. He holds a book and an X-shaped cross, his identifying attribute and the means of his martyrdom. The two panels on the left-hand side depict the Last Supper with Jesus and his apostles in the lower left and, above, Saint Alfonso (Ildefonso) praying before the Virgin. Appointed the archbishop of Toledo, Spain in 657, Alfonso was later made the city’s patron saint. Spanish panel paintings from the 15th century typically lack the movable wings characteristic of altarpieces from Northern Europe, especially the Netherlands and France (see examples of winged altarpieces on display in galleries nearby). However, the influence of Netherlandish painting is seen in this altarpiece in the dramatic folds of the clothing and their detailed textures and patterns. In the late Middle Ages, the Spanish court employed many painters born or trained in the Netherlands, leading to the diffusion of northern styles in Spain in the second half of the 15th century.Published References

Gudiol, J., "Una obra inedita del Maestro de Geria," Studies in the History of Art Dedicated to William Suida on his Eightieth Birthday, London, 1959, pp. 106-109, figs. 1-4.

"Aportaciones recientes a la Historia Del Arte Espanol," Archivo Español de Arte, nos. 130-131, 1960, no. 58, repr. pl. V.

Cruz, R., "El Maestro de los Claveles," Goya, no. 61, 1964, pp. 12, 14-16, repr. pp. 15, 16.

Osman, R. E., "The Monte Gargano Episode from the Life of Saint Michael, A Fifteenth Century Castilian Panel Painting," Archivero, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, I, 1973, pp. 57, 65, n. 19, 67, repr. p. 58 (accepts attribution of Cruz to Claveles Master).

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 107, pl. 48.

Young, Eric, "European Paintings, The Toledo Museum of Art," (review); Connoisseur, vol. 196, no. 787, Sept. 1977, p. 69.

Putney, Richard H., Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 2002, (det.) p. 31, repr. (b/w) fig. 20.