This extraordinary double-sided panel is one of two hinged wings of an altarpiece taking the form of a triptych and dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle. One side depicts events from the Book of Genesis, including God’s creation of the animals of the earth and the first people, Adam and Eve. Below these scenes is an image of Saint Andrew holding a cross and making a gesture of blessing, flanked by censing angels and kneeling donors whose names are written on the scrolls above their heads. The reverse side shows scenes from the life of Saint Andrew, beginning with the saint’s calling by Jesus and continuing with his efforts to eradicate paganism by preaching and baptizing. Remarkably, the triptych’s central panel and other wing and also survive in two different collections in Spain, completing the stories of creation and apostolic mission begun on this panel.
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Top, Creation of the Animals, Creation of Adam; middle, Creation of Eve, God with the naked Adam and Eve; bottom, Saint Andrew with donors and the priest of Añastro
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Top, Creation of the Animals, Creation of Adam; middle, Creation of Eve, God with the naked Adam and Eve; bottom, Saint Andrew with donors and the priest of Añastro
Back, top, The Calling of St Andrew; middle, Saint Andrew preaches to the pagans; bottom, Saint Andrew baptizes, Saint Andrew observes a king worshipping an idol
Artwork Details
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Title:Scenes from the Life of Saint Andrew
Date:late 14th century
Geography:Made in Castile, Spain
Culture:Spanish
Medium:Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions:78 1/4 in. × 39 3/4 in. × 2 1/8 in. × 15/16 in. (198.8 × 101 × 5.4 × 2.4 cm)
Classification:Paintings-Panels
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1925
Object Number:25.120.257
Inscription: Inscribed (in Spanish): (recto, center left) DIO LA SACA OS LA COSTI EL ADAM DORMI (God takes the bone from the sleeping Adam's rib); (recto, center right) CRIO DIO AEBA DE LA COSTI EL [ADAM] (God creates Eve from [Adam's] rib; (recto, bottom) INSENSA EL ANGEL / SANT ANDRES APOSTOL / INSENSA EL ANGEL (censing angel / Saint Andrew the Apostle / censing angel); (left to right, on donors' scrolls, with their names) . . . AIS DAMIGO; ANOTRO [TR elided] FERANDES DE ANASTRO; MARTIN PERIS DE ANASTROELRA; (on donors' books) OSE POR SANT ANDRES ROG (Saint Andrew prays for . . . ); (verso, top) SANT ANDRES ANDA PESCANDO LLAMA . . . CRISTO (Saint Andrew goes fishing, Christ calls . . . ); (verso, center) SANT ANDRES PEDRICA A LAS GENTES PAGANAS (Saint Andrew preaches to the pagan people); (verso, bottom left) BATISA SANT ANDRES (Saint Andrew baptizes); (verso, bottom right) ADORA EL RE EL IDOLO SANT ANDRES (the king adores the idol, Saint Andrew)
From the church of Saint Andrew, Añastro; [ Emile Pares, Paris, Madrid, and New York (sold 1915)] ; his sale, Anderson Galleries American, New York (February 18-19, 1915, no. 305) ; George Grey Barnard American, New York (until 1925)
New York. Museum of Biblical Art. "An Uneasy Communion: Jews, Christians, and the altarpieces of medieval Spain," February 19, 2010–May 20, 2010.
Breck, Joseph. The Cloisters: A Brief Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1926. p. 32.
Post, Chandler Rathfon. A History of Spanish Painting. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1930. pp. 133–36, 467, fig. 127.
Wehle, Harry B. A Catalogue of Paintings: Volume 1, Catalogue of Italian, Spanish and Byzantine Paintings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1940. pp. 211–12, ill.
Cook, Walter W.S., and José Gudiol Ricart. Pintura e imaginería románicas. Ars Hispaniae, Vol. 6. 1st ed. Madrid: Editorial Plus Ultra S. A., 1950. p. 261.
Allen, Josephine L., and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1954. p. 92.
Randall Jr., Richard H. A Cloisters Bestiary. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1960. p. 3, ill.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. p. 178.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 2. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. p. 190.
Cook, Walter W.S., José Gudiol Ricart, and Editorial Plus Ultra S. A. Pintura e imaginería románicas. Ars Hispaniae, Vol. 6. 2nd ed. Madrid, 1980. p. 238–39, fig. 292–93.
Mentré, Mireille. Création et Apocalypse: Histoire d'un Regard Humain sur le Divin. Paris: O.E.I.L., 1984. p. 101.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. pp. 146–47.
Sáenz Pascual, Raquel. "Un Ejemplo de Gótico Lineal Tardío: El Retablo de San Andrés de Añastro." Revisión del Arte Medieval en Euskal Herria. Cuadernos de Sección. Artes Plásticas y Monumentales 15 (1996). pp. 471–81, ill. and discussed throughout.
Sáenz Pascual, Raquel. La Pintura Gótica en Álava: Una Contribución a su Estudio. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Diputación Foral de Álava, 1997. pp. 137–79, fig. 14–18.
Sáenz Pascual, Raquel. "El Ciclo del Génesis en el Retablo de San Andrés de Añastro." In La Biblia en el Arte y en la Literatura: V Simposio Bíblico Español: Volumen 2, Arte. Valencia: Fundación Bíblica Española, 1999. pp. 369–83.
Melero Moneo, María Luisa. "Retablo y frontal del convento de San Juan de Quejana en Álava (1396)." Locus Amoenus 5 (2001–2002). pp. 39–40.
Gutiérrez Baños, Fernando. "Aportación al Estudio de la Pintura de Estilo Gótico Lineal en Castilla y León: Precisiones Cronológicas y Corpus de Pintura Mural y Sobre Tabla." PhD diss., Universidad de Valladolid, 2005. no. 7, p. 22–40, reconstruction fig. 2, p. 468.
Mann, Vivian B. "Jews and Altarpieces in Medieval Spain." In Uneasy Communion: Jews, Christians, and the Altarpieces of Medieval Spain, edited by Vivian B. Mann. New York, London: Museum of Biblical Art, 2010. pp. 112–17, fig. 49.
Master of the Codex of Saint George (Italian, active Florence, ca. 1315–35)
ca. 1330–35
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