London, New Gallery, Venetian Art , 1894-95, no. 34.
Literature
G. Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori scultori ed architetti, 1568, ed. Milanesi, Florence 1880, vol. V, p. 311 (erroneously as by Francesco Morone); J.P. Richter, The Mond Collection. An Appreciation, London 1910, vol. I, pp. 268 ff., reproduced plate XVI; G. Gerola, Le antiche pale di S. Maria in Organo di Verona, Bergamo 1913, pp. 21 and 23, reproduced; B. Berenson, The Italian Paintings of the Renaissance, 1932, p. 258; B. Berenson, Pitture italiane del Rinascimento, Milan 1936, p. 222; B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian Schools, vol. I, London 1968, p. 195 (as formerly Lord Melchett collection, Melchett Court, Romsey, Hants.); H.-J. Eberhardt, "Girolamo dai Libri", in P. Brugnoli ed., Maestri della Pittura Veronese, Verona 1974, pp. 144 and 151.
Provenance
Church of Santa Maria in Organo, Verona, before 1501; Counts Balladaro, Verona, by whom sold in 1887; Miss Henrietta Hertz (according to the sale catalogues below); Dr Ludwig Mond (1839-1909), London; Thence by descent to his younger son Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett (1868-1930); Thence by descent to his son Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett (1898-1949); Thence by inheritance to his wife Gwen, Lady Melchett, Mulberry House, Westminster (nos. 48 and 49 respectively - according to labels on the reverse); By whom sold as one of five paintings from the Mond Collection ('The Property of Gwen, Lady Melchett'), London, Sotheby's, 24 March 1965, lot 95, for £4,200 to Purvil Greene; Anonymous sale ('The Property of Gwen, Lady Melchett'), London, Sotheby's, 16 March 1966, lot 24, for £2,800 to Agnew's; With Thomas Agnew & Sons. Ltd., London (nos. 27669 and 27670 respectively), from whom acquired by the father of the present owner in December 1966; Thence by descent.
Notes
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN Girolamo was the son of the miniaturist Francesco dai Libri, from whom he almost certainly learnt the art of painting miniatures and illumination (hence their name ?dai Libri?). Girolamo probably also trained in the workshop of the Veronese painter Domenico Morone, with whose son Francesco he was to become closely associated. The two artists collaborated on a number of projects and their style is very similar, thus leading to their works often being confused (as was the case here when Vasari mistakenly described these panels as by Francesco Moroneυ1). The paintings are characteristic of Girolamo?s love for naturalistic detail. Landscape plays a very important part in Girolamo?s works: his attention to detail in depicting the foliage and landscape is greater than that applied to the figures themselves. Even on a larger scale, in easel paintings or altarpieces, Girolamo manages not to lose sight of the pictorial impact of his compositions whilst painstakingly describing flowers and foliage: indeed his approach to naturalistic detail is that of a miniaturist.υ2 The paintings? dimensions are relatively small and yet the simplicity of their designs ensure legibility from a distance (for the paintings? original placement see below).The sculptural form and solidity of the two figures have much in common with the saints in Girolamo?s later works; in particular those in his Madonna and Child with Saints Andrew and Peter (?Madonna della Quercia?), datable to after 1530, in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona.υ3 Both paintings share a remarkably low viewpoint and an extensive landscape against which the two saints are outlined. Saint Peter, shown holding the keys that are normally his attribute, looks out in each panel to engage with the viewer in the same arresting manner. These panels are datable for stylistic reasons to a relatively early phase in Girolamo?s artistic career. Their similarity to Francesco Morone?s works is not incidental for the panels used to hang on the altar of the ?Maestà? chapel in the church of Santa Maria in Organo in Verona, where Francesco and Girolamo are known to have worked together.υ4 The chapel of the ?Maestà? came to be known as such from 1537 but was originally dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Vasari described the chapel and the paintings within it in his Vita of Francesco Morone, erroneously attributing these two panels to the artist: ?And afterwards for the ?ancona? of the altar of the Muletta he painted a St. Peter and St. John, barely more than a ?braccio? high, but worked so well and with such diligence that they are like miniatures; and the carvings of this work were done by fra? Giovanni da Verona??.υ5 Given that payments to Fra Giovanni da Verona are recorded in 1501 and 1502 for the carving and gilding of the structure into which these panels were originally set, it is reasonable to assume that they were painted around 1500 and completed by 1501. Indeed a register in the monastery records a payment on 5th February 1501, without specifying the name of the artist, for some illuminated manuscripts (?miniature d?un breviario?) and for two small devotional panels (?duy quadreti de devotione?) which must surely be identifiable with these.υ6 The paintings once belonged to the famous German-born industrialist Dr Ludwig Mond (1839-1909). During the last quarter of the 19th century until his death in 1909, Mond amassed an important collection of paintings, notable for its Italian 15th-century works and a large proportion of which were left to the National Gallery in London after the death of Mond?s wife in 1924. Among the 56 paintings he left to the National Gallery were important works such as Botticelli?s Scenes from the Life of Saint Zenobius, Mantegna?s Holy Family with Saint John, Giovanni Bellini?s Dead Christ supported by Angels and Raphael?s Crucifixion (more commonly known as the ?Mond Crucifixion?). Mond earned his fortune through the success of his two companies ? Brunner, Mond & Co. and later the Mond Nickel Company ? and invested his money in art. From 1884 he appointed as his agent the art historian Jean Paul Richter, who was to write a catalogue of Mond?s collection in 1910. In it, Richter dated these two panels to before 1505 and wrongly hypothesised that they once constituted the wings of a triptych, probably flanking a panel of The Virgin and Child or a ciborium. He also put forward a spurious theory that Girolamo?s Saint John was connected with Albrecht Dürer?s famous painting of Saints Peter and John now in Munich.υ7 The paintings remained in Mond?s family until 1965 when they were sold by his grandson?s wife, Lady Melchett, and were acquired shortly afterwards by the father of the present owner. 1 See Vasari, under Literature. 2 Compare, for example, Girolamo?s focus on naturalistic details in his altarpiece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in his Nativity in the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona. 3 Reproduced in H.-J. Eberhardt, under Literature, fig. 98. 4 A collaboration between the two artists in the church is recorded in 1514, 1516 and 1523. In 1515-16 they worked together on painting the organ shutters (today in Marcellise). 5 ?E dopo dipinse l?ancona dell?altare della Muletta, facendovi un S. Pietro ed un S. Giovanni, che sono poco più d?un braccio d?altezza, ma lavorati tanto bene e con tanta diligenza che paiano miniati; e gl? intagli di quest? opera fece fra? Giovanni da Verona, maestro di tarsie e d?intaglio? (Vasari, op. cit.). 6 See L. Di Canossa, ?La famiglia dai Libri?, in A.A.S.L., series 4, vol. XII (1912), pp. 94 and 121-22. 7 See J.P. Richter, under Literature, pp. 268 ff.
