Italian School, 16th Century
The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
gouache and gold on vellum
14.1 x 10.1cm (5 9/16 x 4in).
unframed
Footnotes:
The present unusual gouache would most probably have originally comprised a page from a Book of Hours and sylistically dates from between 1540-1560. The palette, the handling of the flesh, the little putti and the depiction of faces in the small figures are all comparable to the distinctive technique of the Croatian miniaturist Giulio Clovio (1498-1678). Clovio has been dubbed 'Michelangelo of the Miniature': he spent the majority of his career in Rome and is regarded as the last notable artist in the tradition of the illuminated manuscript. From a stylistic point of view the figures are also reminiscent of certain Mannerist artists of the Prague School, such as Bartholomeus Spranger and Joachim Wtewael.