The St. Bartholomew Altarpiece ( C ) 1500-1510 by A.Davey

Master of the Bartholomew Altar (active 1470-1510) Inv. Nr. 1183, 1184, 1185. Alte Pinakothek, Munich In the Boisserée collection in 1825. Sulpiz Boiserée (2 August 1783 - 2 May 1854) was a German art collector and art historian. With his brother Melchior he formed a collection that ultimately formed the basis of that of the Alte Pinakothek. He played a key role in the completion of Cologne Cathedral. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulpiz_Boisser%c3%a9e" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulpiz_Boisser%C3%A9e</a> ======================================================== The family signet and coat of arms of Art of Westerburg and his wife, Druitgen of Andernacht are shown in the corners of this panel. The saints are depicted standing on a narrow platform with their clearly shown attributes. If I knew more about the lives of the saints and their significance to the people of the early 16th century I might be able to offer insights as to why this particular selection of saints appear together in this painting. In the center panel: St. Bartholomew was flayed by a knife. <b>About St. Bartholomew</b> Bartholomew (Ancient Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος, romanized: Bartholomaîos; Latin: Bartholomaeus; Coptic: ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; Hebrew: בר-תולמי; Arabic: بَرثُولَماوُس‎, romanized: Barthulmāwus) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He has also been identified as Nathanael or Nathaniel,[1] who appears in the Gospel of John when introduced to Jesus by Philip (who would also become an apostle), (John 1:43–51) although many modern commentators reject the identification of Nathanael with Bartholomew.[2] According to the Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Bartholomew's martyrdom is commemorated on the first day of the Coptic calendar (i.e., the first day of the month of Thout), which currently falls on September 11 (corresponding to August 29 in the Julian calendar). Eastern Christianity honours him on June 11 and the Catholic Church honours him on August 24. The Church of England and other Anglican churches also honour him on August 24.[3] The Armenian Apostolic Church honours Saint Bartholomew along with Saint Thaddeus as its patron saints. &quot;Bartholomew,&quot; English for &quot;Bar Talmai&quot; (Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος, transliterated &quot;Bartholomaios&quot; in Greek) comes from the Aramaic: בר-תולמי‎ bar-Tolmay native to Israel &quot;son of Talmai&quot; or &quot;son of the furrows&quot;.[4] Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels: Matthew,[10:1–4] Mark,[3:13–19] and Luke,[6:12–16] and also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension;[Acts 1:4, 12, 13] on each occasion, however, he is named in the company of Philip. He is not mentioned by the name Bartholomew in the Gospel of John, nor are there any early acta,[5] the earliest being written by a pseudepigraphical writer, Pseudo-Abdias, who assumed the identity of Abdias of Babylon and to whom is attributed the Saint-Thierry (Reims, Bibl. mun., ms 142) and Pseudo-Abdias manuscripts.[6][7] In art Bartholomew is most commonly depicted with a beard and curly hair at the time of his martyrdom. According to legends he was skinned alive and beheaded so is often depicted holding his flayed skin or the curved flensing knife with which he was skinned.[8] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle</a> St. Agnes's attribute is the lamb after which she is named (Latin <i>agnus</i>). <b>About St. Agnes</b> Agnes of Rome (c.  291 – c.  304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She is one of seven women who, along with the Blessed Virgin, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. Agnes is depicted in art with a lamb, evoking her name which resembles the Latin word for &quot;lamb&quot;, agnus (the given name is Greek, from hagnē ἁγνή &quot;chaste, pure&quot;). She is also shown with a martyr's palm. She is the patron saint of girls[1] and chastity. Agnes' feast day is 21 January. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome</a> St. Cecelia, the patron saint of music, is holding a portative organ. <b>About St. Cecilia</b> Cecilia, also known as Saint Cecilia, (Latin: Sancta Caecilia, English: alternate spelling - Cecelia) is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she &quot;sang in her heart to the Lord&quot;.[2][3] Her feast day is celebrated in the Latin Catholic, Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and in some churches of the Anglican Communion on November 22.[4] She is one of seven women, in addition to the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. While the details of her story are apparently fictional,[5] her existence and martyrdom are considered a historical fact. She is said to have been beheaded with a sword. An early church, Santa Cecilia, was founded in the 3rd century by Pope Urban I in the Trastevere section of Rome, reputedly on the site of the house in which she lived. A number of musical compositions are dedicated to her, and her feast day has become the occasion for concerts and musical festivals. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Cecilia" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Cecilia</a> The kneeling Carthusian monk was concealed by overpainting until 1949-1951. ======================================================== About the artist: The Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece (sometimes called the Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altar,[1]) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Germany between 1475[1]/1480 and 1510.[2] Despite his anonymity, he is one of the most recognizable artists of the early Renaissance period in German art.[3] Almost nothing is known of his life, including his name; nevertheless, his hand is distinctive enough that scholars have found it fairly easy to trace his career.[2] His name is derived from an altarpiece dated to between 1505 and 1510, depicting Saint Bartholomew flanked by Saint Agnes and Saint Cecilia. <b>The painting is known to have hung in the church of Saint Columba in Cologne; the inclusion of a Carthusian monk in the picture indicates a possible connection to the Carthusian monastery in that city.[1]</b> The identity of the Master remains unknown; it has been suggested, given the number of commissions he executed for the Carthusian order, that he may have been a member himself.[1] It is now believed that, despite his associations with Cologne, and with German artistic circles, elements of his style suggest that the Master was initially trained in the Netherlands - a point of origin in Utrecht, or in the Gelderland region, has been posited. A Book of Hours, open to an identifiably middle Netherlandish text, in the hand of Saint Columba in a panel attributed to the Master conserved at Mainz,[4] offers a clue to his cultural origins. It is further suggested that he emigrated to Cologne in about 1480.[1][2] His early style may be seen in the miniatures he painted for the Book of Hours of Sophia van Bylant; the <i>Flagellation</i> in this collection is dated to 1475, the earliest date associated with the Master. The calendar in the book is that of the diocese of Utrecht; nevertheless, certain oddities of language indicate an affinity with Arnhem, which was also the home of the donor.[1] Other early works, dated to the 1480s, include an <i>Adoration of the Kings</i> and a <i>Madonna and Child with Saint Anne</i>, both of which exhibit affinities with northern Netherlandish painting and may have been created in the Netherlands. Among the very few works attributed to the Master for which the original location is documented are a pair of altarpieces commissioned for the Carthusian monastery in Cologne by a lawyer, Dr. Peter Rinck,[1] and the <i>Deposition,</i> now at the Musée du Louvre, that was executed for the hospital of the Antonite brothers in Paris.[5] Style It has been said that the Master is the last &quot;Gothic&quot; painter to be active in Cologne. Approximately twenty-five paintings have been attributed to him[1] on the basis of his highly individual style, which does not seem to bear any affinity to that of any other school then active locally.[2] Despite the fact that he seems to have been the leading painter of his time in Cologne, no evidence of any followers, or of a school in the usual sense, may be found.[1] A number of influences, mainly Netherlandish, have been traced in the Master's paintings. These include Dirck Bouts and Rogier van der Weyden,[6][7] whose influence may be seen in the Munich Madonna and Child with Saint Anne. Stylistically, the Master's paintings are characterized by their use of bright, enamel-like colors[7] and an affinity to the International Gothic style of painting.[8] The Master's work may be found in a number of international museum collections. Three panels from the altarpiece which gave him his name are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and the <i>Deposition for the Order of St Anthony</i> is at the Musée du Louvre. There are four works in the National Gallery, London[9] and a double-sided panel of the Journey of the Magi (or Three Kings) and the <i>Assumption of Mary</i> at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.[2] A <i>Baptism of Christ</i> is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[1] Other paintings are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;[10] the Philadelphia Museum of Art;[11] and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne.[12] A <i>Death of the Virgin</i> formerly in Berlin is now lost.[8]