Artist: Unknown (c.1360-90)
Location: Church of San Silvestro
Medium: Oil on Panel (c. 210 x 220 cm.)
Proposed Treatment: Cleaning and treatment; resetting of panels
Sponsor Status: No current sponsor
Estimate: $73,200 (Please call our office at 212-737-3141 for the most up-to-date estimate based on the current exchange rate)
This fourteenth-century polyptych belonged to the wine merchants’ guild, which was based at the Church of San Silvestro on the Rialto. The polyptych may have graced the guild’s altar in the Church (since rebuilt) before it was replaced by a more up-to-date painting around 1570.
The physical characteristics of the polyptych are unusual. It is formed from twelve panels, from up to three different sources, united in a gothic frame. While the majority of the work is believed to date from the fourteenth century, the image of Saint Helen may date from the sixteenth century. The inscription on the altarpiece indicates that it was “modified” in 1756. Further research is required to clarify the circumstances surrounding the work’s commissioning, use, and subsequent adaptation.
The saints depicted in the polyptych had special significance for the scuola members. The wine merchants were devoted to the Cross and Saint Helen (reputed to have found the true Cross) is shown in the top-center panel. Other saints include Venice’s protector, Saint Mark, as well as Nicholas of Bari, also a patron saint of the scuola. The Enthroned Madonna and Child forms the central panel of the work.
The polyptych is now in a mediocre state of conservation. Restoration work would include the resetting of the panels in the frame, cleaning of dust, treatment to prevent worm infestation, and consolidation in areas where the paint surface is lifting.
