This paper aims to gather all information about the diptych of Mater Dolorosa and Christ Crowned with Thorns, which until 2023 stayed in the Provincial Museum of Pontevedra (Museo Provincial de Pontevedra) in Spain. The research addresses two aspects of the diptych: the controversy of its attribution to a circle of Albrecht Bouts or his follower and the diptych’s arrival at the Provincial Museum of Pontevedra. This study explains that this diptych’s former attributions cannot be supported due to his style and the new research about Bout’s workshop practices. Finally, it gathers all the documentary sources about its arrival at the Pontevedra Museum.
This article focuses on two recently discovered documents from Spanish archives in Simancas and Zaragoza, which show a record of the relationship between the painter Michel Sittow (c. 1468-1525/6) and several members of the court of Isabella of Castile between 1492 and 1502. Further, it puts into context several formerly published documents that indicate significant debts were owed to the painter and give us clues about his artworks from 1494, as well as a visit he took to Zaragoza in 1498: one on Michel Sittow’s stay in Castile; an account of Fernando Gomes de Éçija from 1494; a notarial deed from Zaragoza dating from 1498; a list of court salaries, also from 1498; and an alphabetical list of court debts from 1497-1498.
Additionally, reconsideration is given to the period Sittow spent at the court of the Spanish king as both an artist and a courtier. Apparently, he had left the court because the full salary he was due was not transferred. Based on the newly discovered documents, the artist may have left in 1502, electing to serve Philip the Fair between 1502 and 1504. It is also now possible to identify 1494 as the year when the painter worked on the Santiago altarpiece in Toledo.
Only in 1515 did Sittow return to the Iberian Peninsula to collect the remaining sum, authorized by Charles V’s treasurer, Alonso de Arguello. The required amount was paid to him over the course of a year. Despite several uncertainties regarding his life and artistic practice, Michel Sittow’s career provides a significant insight into royal commissioning practices and the impact of fickle financial administration.
Este estudio analiza dos tablas de finales del siglo XV y principios del siglo XVI de Cristo sobre la piedra fría de la colección del Museo del Prado en Madrid, y el Camino del Calvario del Museo Pushkin en Moscú. La primera obra está relacionada con la producción artística de Juan de Flandes, mientras que la segunda, desde principios del siglo XX, se ha adscrito al trabajo de Michel Sittow. El análisis estilístico e iconográfico de ambas tablas en el contexto del Políptico de Isabel la Católica permite revelar sus características comunes, y proponer que ambos artistas, mientras estaban al servicio de Isabel de Castilla, colaboraron no solamente en las cuarenta y siete tablas que pertenecían a la colección real, sino también en otras obras.
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