Altarpiece: Hebrew Prophet
Artist
Giovanni del Biondo
(Italian, active 1356 - died 1399)
Date1365-1370
Object number62.0257
Mediumtempera on panel
Dimensions13 3/4 × 7 in. (35 × 17.8 cm)
frame: 26 × 11 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (66 × 28.6 × 5.7 cm)
frame: 26 × 11 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (66 × 28.6 × 5.7 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York
Collections
Description[REPLACE DESCRIPTION-SEE BELOW] This small panel was once one of the four pinnacles that formed part of an altarpiece in the Oratorio della Madonna, in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in the town of San Giovanni Valdarno, near Arezzo, Italy, and later for a short time in the Oratorio di San Lorenzo in the same church. Today, the two Prophets represented in the outer pinnacles are in Ponce, and the once two inner pinnacles depicting the Annunciation are now in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
[NEW DESCRIPTION] Meticulous detail and the representation of the individuality of characters are qualities found in many works by the Italian artist Giovanni del Biondo, who settled in Florence around 1360. Bright shades of red, blue, and green also distinguish some of the compositions attributed to the artist. The painting displayed on the wall is one of two representations of Hebrew prophets that were part of an altarpiece dedicated to the Virgin and her role as the mother of Christ, which was commissioned for the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in the town of San Giovanni Valdarno in Italy. The figure of the prophet reminded spectators that the conception of Christ had been announced in the Old Testament.
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