Triptych of Saint James the Lesser and Saint Philip
Central Panel: Triptych of Saint James the Lesser and Saint Philip
Obverse of wings: Simão Gonçalves da Câmara and his sons and D. Isabel da Silva (?)
and her daughters
Reverse sides: The Annunciation
Attributed to Pieter Coeck Van Aelst
Oil on oak
About 1527 to 1531
164 cm (H) x 122 cm (W) (wings: 170 cm x 57 cm)
MASF40A
This triptych comes from the Church of St. James the Lesser, known today as the Socorro (Help) Church in Funchal. Researcher Cayola Zagallo found it in the vestry of the church, where still today the stand of the set can be seen. The donors represented on the obverse sides of the triptych would be Simão Gonçalves da Câmara and his son João, third and fourth donatories of Funchal, accompanied by their wives, D. Joana Castelo Branco, the first wife of Simão, or D. Isabel Silva, his second wife, and D. Leonor de Vilhena, consort of João Gonçalves da Câmara. According to Cayola Zagallo, the date of the execution of the triptych must be between 1527-1531.
The first stone of the church was laid in 1521, and it is not difficult to admit that, in the following years, the donatory captain Simão Gonçalves da Câmara or his son and successor, João, ordered the sumptuous retable.
It was attributed to Pieter Coeck van Aelst by Georges Marlier, in 1966. This attribution was confirmed by Pedro Dias, in 1992, for the Portuguese version of the catalogue for the exhibition Feitorias, at the National Museum of Ancient Art.
The triptych should be considered a work from the first period of Pieter Coeck van Aelst1. When opened, it presents the same background landscape on the three panels, the central panel showing the prominent figures of the Holy Apostles, Philip and Saint James the Lesser, the latter being chosen as patron saint of the city of Funchal in 1521. In the background there are scenes representing their respective martyrdoms: the crucifixion of Philip and the death of James by cudgelling.
Closed, the set represented the Annunciation in greyish tones with the flesh and hair in natural colour. Contrary to what is common, at the top, between the figures, there is a window between the two panels, through which one can see a landscape of gentle mountains, an allusion to the World that the Saviour who is proclaimed comes to rescue.
1 Arte Flamenga, Museu de Arte Sacra do Funchal, Luiza Clode e Fernando António Baptista Pereira, EDICARTE, 1997, p. 104. |
