The Saint Anne Altarpiece: Saint Nicholas [left panel]

Provenance

Cardinal Antonio Despuig y Dameto [d. 1813], Raxa, Palma de Mallorca; by descent to Counts of Montenegro, Raxa, Palma de Mallorca.[1] Leon de Somzée, Brussels, by 1899.[2] Gaston de Somzée, Brussels;[3] purchased May 1902 through (Charles Fairfax Murray) by (Agnew & Sons, London); sold January 1906 to (Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris).[4] (Eugene Fischhof, Paris and New York); sold April 1907 to Peter A. B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[5] inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] The first mention of the painting is Joaquín María Bover, _Noticia Histórica-Artística de los Museos del Eminetísimo Señor Cardinal Despuig Existentes en Mallorca_ (Palma, 1845), 178, no. 152, 194, no. 207, and 195, no. 216. See also Karl Justi, "Altflandrische Bilder in Spanien und Portugal," _Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte_ 21 (1886), 137-138. For the life of Cardinal Despuig, see Luis Ripoll, _Raxa y el Cardinal Despuig_ (Palma de Mallorca, 1954), 8-15, and Jaime Salva, _El Cardinal Despuig_ (Palma de Mallorca, 1964). [2] _Exhibition of Pictures by Masters of the Flemish and British Schools including a Selection from the Works of Sir Peter Paul Rubens_ (London, The New Gallery, 1899-1900), no. 52. [3] _Exposition des Primitifs flamands et d'art ancien_ (Bruges, Hôtel de Gouvernement Provincial, 1902), no. 125, lists C. and G. de Somzée, but Sedelmeyer Gallery, _Illustrated Catalogue of the Tenth Series of 100 Paintings by Old Masters_ (Paris, 1906), 9, lists Gaston de Somzée. [4] Agnew's Picture Stock Book no. 9, pp 256-7 and no. 10, pp. 24-25, National Gallery London Reference no. NGA 27/1/1/9-10 (copies NGA curatorial files). [5] Unpublished document from the Widener papers in the NGA curatorial files that appears to be a copy of a receipt of 1 April 1907; the transaction was part purchase, part exchange, with Fischhof receiving an _Assumption of the Virgin_ by Murillo. Fischhof is not mentioned in the provenance given in _Catalogue of Paintings forming the Private Collection of P.A.B. Widener_ (Ashbourne, Pennsylvania, 1908), 155.

The Saint Anne Altarpiece: Saint Nicholas [left panel]

David, Gerard

c. 1500/1520

Accession Number

1942.9.17.a

Medium

oil on panel

Dimensions

painted surface (including addition at top): 234 x 74.9 cm (92 1/8 x 29 1/2 in.) | overall (panel): 236.1 x 75.7 cm (92 15/16 x 29 13/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Credit Line

Widener Collection