Triptych with the Virgin and Child, Mary Magdalene, and Saints
about 1400–141018 5/8 x 17 x 1 in. (47.31 x 43.18 x 2.54 cm)
Attributed to Paolo di Giovanni Fei (Italian, about 1345–about 1411)
Creation Place:
Siena, Italy
Medium:
Tempera and gold on panel
Credit Line:
Bequest of Jane Taft Ingalls
Accession Number:
1962.9
Currently on View in:
Sacred Stories (3)
Exhibition History
Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft Museum of Art. Italian Panel Paintings from the Permanent Collection, December 2, 1989–May 30, 1990.
Gallery Label
Holy figures appear on this triptych—an altarpiece with three hinged panels—in arched niches. Their golden surroundings denote sacred space, as if this triptych provides a glimpse into heaven. Much of the gold here has worn away, revealing the painter’s preparatory layer of bole, a substance made from red clay. Bole provided a soft surface for the artist to create the patterns you see here, as well as a warm undertone to brighten the gold finish.
Provenance
Acquired by Annesley Gore, London. Acquired by Albert S. Ingalls [1874-1943] and Jane Taft Ingalls [1874-1962], Cleveland, OH, December 1936; Jane Taft Ingalls, via widowhood, 1943; bequest to the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts, Cincinnati, OH [1], 1962; transferred to the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH, September 1, 2006 [2]. Notes:
[1]. The Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts (CIFA) was formed by Charles Phelps and Anna Sinton Taft on March 22, 1927 as a non-profit corporation to stimulate the development of art and music in the City of Cincinnati and run the Taft Museum of Art, which opened in 1932. The Tafts offered $1 million for a permanent endowment fund, on the condition that the community raise $2.5 million in matching funds, which was achieved by December 3, 1928. [2]. Until August 31, 2006, the Museum was owned by CIFA, administered by CIFA’s Board of Trustees, and governed by the Taft Museum Board of Overseers. On September 1, 2006, the Museum legally separated from CIFA and began operations as its own incorporated 501(c)(3) entity. This separate incorporation led to the transfer to the separate entity after August 31, 2006 of all tangible assets comprising the Taft collection.
Collection Lists
This artwork is in the following list(s):
