Triptych of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew
Central Panel: Saint Peter
Left wing: Saint Paul (obverse) and Virgin of the Annunciation (reverse in greyish-beige).
Right wing: Saint Andrew (obverse) and the Archangel Saint Gabriel (reverse in greyish-beige)
Attributed to Joos van Cleve
About 1520
Oil painting on oak
178 cm (H) x 116 cm (W) (width of the wings: 55 cm)
MASF27
This triptych came from the Church of Saint Peter, but it originated in the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, founded in the mid-15th century by João Gonçalves Zarco, first donatory captain of Funchal. The set must have been ordered at the beginning of the 16th century for the main altar, on the initiative of Simão Gonçalves da Câmara, third donatory captain of Funchal.
In the centre, St. Peter is represented, holding the keys of Heaven and the volumen of the New Law, wearing a blue tunic and a red mantel of magnificent design. The figure appears outlined against the background landscape in deep perspective, where the scene of the calling of St. Peter on the sea of Galilee can be seen to the right. To the right, St. Andrew is represented, holding the form of the cross on which he was martyred. To the left, St. Paul holds in his right hand the closed volumen and in his left the sword with which he was decapitated. On the reverse sides there is the scene of the Annunciation, with Gabriel to the right and Mary to the left, both wrapped in phylacteries with the inscription of the Angelic Greeting.
The iconographic programme of the whole triptych, when closed, illustrated the Incarnation of the Word, and after it was opened, three of the main protagonists of the dissemination of the message of the Incarnate Word.
The overall quality of the composition, the rigour of the anatomy, vibrancy and contrast of colour, reveal an artist in full maturity of his expressive resources.
Today the painting is attributed to Joos van Cleve1. Note, for example, its proximity to the triptych of the Adoration of the Kings in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.
Similar to the triptych of Funchal is the Triptych of St. Bartholomew, in the municipality of Baião, from the Church of Campelo.
The painting is attributed to Joos van Cleve, whose real name was Van der Beke, at the beginning of his activity. Born in Cleve, he was a disciple of Jan Joest van Kalkar, who worked between 1507 and 1540. Documents show he was in Antwerp starting in 1511-12. He was influenced by the work of Gérard David, Quentin Metsys, Patenier and later by the Mannerists of Antwerp.
1 Arte Flamenga, Museu de Arte Sacra do Funchal, Luiza Clode e Fernando António Baptista Pereira, EDICARTE, 1997, p. 76. |
