Altarpiece with the Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saint Jerome and Saint Nicholas of Myra

Altarpiece with the Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saint Jerome and Saint Nicholas of Myra

BK-16978

inscription: ‘QVESTA - TAVOLA - AFACTA - FARE - SVORA - CATERINA - FIGLIVOLA - DITOMASO - DISALVESTRO - DI NVCCARELLO - NE - MCCCCC2’

This altarpiece was made in the then modern Renaissance style. The form and motifs of the mouldings derive from Classical Roman architecture. The material was also modern: tin-glazed earthenware. The inscription translates as: ‘Sister Catherine, daughter of Tomaso di Salvestro, Nuccarello’s son, had this altarpiece made in the year 1502’. It comes from the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Cortona (Italy).

sculptor: Benedetto Buglioni, Florence

1502

height 226 cm x width 172 cm

Public domain

? Commissioned by Caterina Nucciarelli for the monastery of San Girolamo delle Poverelle, Cortona, 1502;{Inscription and coats of arms on the object.} ? transferred to Chiesa di Sant´ Antonio Abate, Cortona, before 1745;{Recorded in Sernini Cucciatti (ed. Cardile) 1982, no. C.104v., p. 41 as `una tavola di terra cotta a basso rilievo, opera di Luca della Robbia. Rappresenta Maria Santissima col Bambino Gesù, S. Girolamo ed un S. Vescovo coll´iscrizione che dice: `Questa tavola l´ha fatta fare suore Caterina di Tommaso di Silvestro di Nuccarello 1502´; BCAE, ms. 424; AEC} collection of Signori Luigi e Girolamo Tommasi, Cortona, 1858;{Inventory 1858, no. 24 (`un basso relievo di terra vetriata di Luca della Robbia contenente la madonna col bambino gesù con due santi che uno vescovo, contornata di vari bellissimi ornati di marmo con fregio sotto di figure in basso relievo´).} sold by descent through the family Tommasi, Signora Giulia Baldelli Boni, to Junius Spencer Morgan II (1867-1932), New York, 1906;{Written information Dott. Ing. Guido Tommasi Aliotti, Cortona, 1 November 1994, in Object File. With thanks to D.J. Dekker.} from whom on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, October 1908 - January 1911;{The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives: Offices of the Secretary, Correspondence files 1870-1950, Junius A. Morgan 2nd, folder M8234. Morgan offerered to sell the object to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for circa $17,000/18,000 in October and December 1908, resulting in the withdrawal of his offer. In 1911 he offers the piece again for $40,000, but the museum declines. In a memorandum of 9 February 1911 curator Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner indicates he thought this price to be `absurdly high´. With thanks to Todor Petev for this information.} transferred to Junius Spencer Morgan II, Paris, 1911;{Ibidem.} …; sale, Raoul Heilbronner (1887-1914), Paris (Drouot), 22-23 June 1921, no. 142, to the dealer Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, possibly for Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris;{Coll. cat. 1973, p. 358.} his collection, before 1933;{Photo album `Het huis van Dr F. Mannheimer, Amsterdam´, 1928-32, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. B-F-1963-426-17.} purchased from his estate, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with 1,702 other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200116146