Open IIIF manifest What is IIIF IIIF viewers

Saints George and Cecilia, (after Antonello da Messina, around 1430–1479)

Maker

(Artists)
1610-1690

After
Antonello da Messina (Artists)
ca.1430-1479 (Life dates)

Title

Date of Production

1650-56

Medium

oil on panel

Dimensions

Height: 23.5 cm (panel)
Width: 17.3 cm (panel)

Accession Number

P.1978.PG.439

Mode of Acquisition

Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

On display

Keywords

Label Text

In 1660, the Flemish artist David Teniers published the Theatrum Pictorium, or ‘Theatre of Painting’, the first printed and illustrated catalogue of a major paintings collection. The collection belonged to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, governor of the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) from 1646 to 1656. During that time, Leopold Wilhelm acquired more than 1,300 paintings spanning two centuries. The catalogue illustrates 243 of them, most from the Italian Renaissance. In preparation, Teniers painted copies in oil paint on small wooden panels working directly from the originals. He sent these small copies to specialist engravers who reproduced them as prints for the publication.

The Courtauld owns 14 of these copies, the largest number in any public collection. They are a valuable record of paintings that have since been altered or lost. They also show Teniers’s remarkable skill and the growing interest in the art of the past.

Provenance

Earl of Wicklow, Shelton Abbey, sold 1950, from whom bought by F.A. Drey, London, from whom acquired by Count Antoine Seilern in 1951; Princes Gate Bequest, 1978.

Exhibition History

David Teniers and the Theatre of Painting, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 19/10/2006-21/01/2007

Information on this object may be incomplete and will be updated as research progresses. We are particularly committed to addressing any discriminatory or offensive language and ideas that might be present in our records. To help improve this record, and to enquire about images of The Courtauld Gallery Collection, please email gallery.collectionsonline@courtauld.ac.uk. Find out more about using and licensing our images.

____________________________

Buy a print from our collection