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Saint Donatian; Saint Victor Presenting a Donor by http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/ed79f996e30e0fc06d292bd7685939bb

http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/ed79f996e30e0fc06d292bd7685939bb · 1490-01-01

This is "Saint Donatian; Saint Victor Presenting a Donor," painted around 1490 by the artist known as the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend. It hangs today in a museum collection, but it did not start out looking like this.

The painting shows two saints flanking a small kneeling donor in a red robe. On the left, the elderly Saint Donatian holds his unusual attribute: a wheel fitted with lit candles. On the right, Saint Victor stands in gleaming plate armor with a sword and a cross banner. The artist poured immense skill into the contrasting textures: heavy silk brocade, raised gold embroidery, and polished metal.

But the real story is in the background margins. The left side shows a Gothic pointed arch window. The right side frames Victor under a rounded Romanesque niche. Two completely different architectural styles, in one interior, make no spatial sense. They are a scar. This panel was cut down from a larger multi-panel altarpiece, trimmed at some point in its history to fit a new frame or a collector's wall. What we see today is a fragment of a lost whole.

Before you scroll on, look once more at the two arches behind them. The painting is quietly telling you what was taken away.

Details

On the left, Saint Donatian, with his rare candle-wheel crozier.
On the left, Saint Donatian, with his rare candle-wheel crozier.
On the right, Saint Victor in polished, contemporary armor.
On the right, Saint Victor in polished, contemporary armor.
The little donor in red. He paid for this, and he is right in the room.
The little donor in red. He paid for this, and he is right in the room.
Now look at the architecture behind them.
Now look at the architecture behind them.
Left: a pointed Gothic church window.
Left: a pointed Gothic church window.
Transcript

Three men in an interior. A donor between saints. On the left, Saint Donatian, with his rare candle-wheel crozier. On the right, Saint Victor in polished, contemporary armor. The little donor in red. He paid for this, and he is right in the room. Now look at the architecture behind them. Left: a pointed Gothic church window. Right: a rounded Romanesque arch. They do not belong together. This panel was once part of a larger altarpiece. It was cut down.