Two Sculptures, One Master? A Technical Study of Two Rare Examples of Polychrome Sculptures Associated with “the Master of Saint Catherine of Gualino”, Italy, Fourteenth Century

de Bellaigue, Diana; Chloros, Jessica; Troalen, Lore; Hendriks, Laura; Lenglet, Justine; Castel, Jérà´me; Dectot, Xavier; Haghipour, Negar

Two Sculptures, One Master? A Technical Study of Two Rare Examples of Polychrome Sculptures Associated with “the Master of Saint Catherine of Gualino”, Italy, Fourteenth Century

Name

Two_Sculptures__One_Master__A_Technical_Study_of_Two_Rare_Examples_of_Polychrome_Sculptures_Associated_with__the_Master_of_Saint_Catherine_of_Gualino_.pdf

Description

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Size

5.14 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (CRC64NVME)

K3XR3jAE08w=

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

de Bellaigue, Diana

Chloros, Jessica

Troalen, Lore

ORCID

Hendriks, Laura

Lenglet, Justine

Castel, Jérà´me

Dectot, Xavier

Haghipour, Negar

Date published

November 2, 2023

Abstract

Between the 1960s and 1990s art historian Giovanni Previtali identified a group of polychrome wood trecento sculptures from the Umbrian-Abruzzo region of Italy as the work of one hand. He named his artist the Maestro della Santa Caterina Gualino after one of the pieces considered to epitomize the style he had identified. Previtali's attribution has since been universally accepted in art historical publications and catalogs. This study tests this assertion through scientific analysis of two of the sculptures named in the group. A team from National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston compared a statue of the Madonna and Child (Edinburgh) and Saint Agnes (Boston) using a variety of analytical tools. Cross-references were made to three other sculptures in the group to which access was gained. The results of this analysis highlight the challenges of testing stylistic associations in the laboratory. Despite taking a scientific approach to data collection and collation there is still much scope for subjectivity in interpretation. Rather than providing a conclusion, our work has opened the door wider still for multiple interpretations, illustrating the limitations of analysis in supporting definitive statements about the authorship of Medieval polychrome sculpture.