Bottega di Domenico e David Ghirlandaio, sec. XV
TESTA DI SAN BERNARDINO
tempera e oro su tavola, cm 35,5x26,5
Workshop of Domenico and David Ghirlandaio, 15th century
SAINT BERNARDINO'S HEAD
tempera and gold on panel, 35.5x26.5 cm
Bibliografia
C. Daly, Two recostructions for Ghirlandaio's workshop and a new altarpiece by Bastiano Mainardi, in "Arte Cristiana", 931, XX, 2022, pp. 304-316.
Il dipinto è stato riconosciuto come un frammento della Pala del Palco già a Berlino, al Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (distrutta duranta la Seconda Guerra Mondiale nel 1945). Come commentato da Daly, "the meticulous attention to Bernardino's features and the firm, sculptural modeling of his cloak discloses the panel's origins from the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio. The relationship to the Berlin panel, while not immediately obvious, is substantiated by several important stylistic and technical features. For one, the dimensions are complementary. In addition, a horizontal band of architecture is just barely visible through the saint's halo - the only part of the background that has not been disfigured by brown overpaint (the band is most visible in the lower right corner of the halo). Thirdly, when this band of architecture is aligned with the upper border of the marble inset on the wall behind Saint Bonaventure in the Berlin panel, the two fragments seamlessly conform and Saints Bernardino and Bonaventure lock eyes. Finally, in terms of style, while abrasion has harshened Saint Bernardino’s features, his sleeve as seen in the earlier photograph is rendered with the same round, smooth folds as the saints in the Berlin fragment. He is also lit from the same direction and his halo is identical in design, all but confirming his origin from the right side of the Berlin altarpiece".