Frans van de Casteele (Kasteels) called Francesco da Castello (Brussels, ca. 1541 - Rome, 1621) Adoration of the Shepherds Crowning with Thorns First decade of the 17th century. Tempera and gold on parchment, 290 x 240 mm (with frame). Original wooden frame with cut-out silver leaf applications; in the corners, medallions with the four evangelists. This beautiful pair of Agnus Dei is made up of two oval miniatures on parchment representing the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Crowning with Thorns, framed by contemporary frames of perforated silver sheet, on a blue taffeta background, inscribed in turn in frames of ebonized wood. In the corners of both frames of cut silver, there are four medallions with miniatures of the Evangelists on a gold background, while in the center of the side margins four angelic heads and three silver rosettes are applied respectively. The two miniatures The central panels, perfectly preserved, represent a joyful and a painful episode in the life of Jesus Christ. The first shows the Holy Family surrounded by shepherds in an attitude of worship, offering gifts to the Child Jesus. The shepherd in the foreground, kneeling and with his back to the viewer , he rests one hand on a wide-brimmed hat and with the other he offers a basket. Another shepherd hands him a sheep with its legs tied, a symbol of the Christian sacrificial lamb, while a third plays the panpipe accompanied by four other characters and a long-snouted dog. The scene takes place outdoors, next to a stable from which their heads the ox and the donkey, before a hilly landscape with the ruins of a temple. In the upper central part, an angel in a luminous glory holds a phylactery with the text "Gloria [...]". The Virgin shows tenderly to those present the Child wrapped in a white cloth, while Joseph leans on a pillar behind her. The miniature, with bright and vivid colours enhanced with chrysographies, has at its bottom the characteristic pile of dark earth with a small branch, unmistakable signature of the artist that appears in all his landscape miniatures. The Crowning with Thorns is an episode of the Passion cycle that follows the flagellation and precedes the Ecce Homo, after which Christ was led to crucifixion. The scene takes place in a courtyard, in the center of which Jesus, seated on a A platform and dressed in a purple cloak illuminated with chrysographies, he wears the crown of thorns and holds a reed in one hand like a scepter. Two soldiers place the crown on Christ's head with two reeds that when crossed form the symbol of the cross, making his forehead bleed, while another henchman kneels before him to mock him. In the background, some guards with characteristic turbans watch the scene under a green curtain lined in red, while in the lower area there is a hole opened in the pavement that It is a characteristic motif of the artist, present in all his miniatures set in interiors. Both miniatures, of great artistic quality, are undoubtedly the work of Francesco da Castello, the Italianized name of Frans van de Casteele (Brussels, ca. 1541 - Rome, October 23, 1621). Francesco da Castello, painter and miniaturist, came to Rome during the pontificate of Gregory XIII (r. 1572-1585) and specialized very early on in the “small manner”, as Giovanni Baglione recalls in the biography dedicated to the artist: “At that time Francesco da Castello came to Rome from Flanders, already having some knowledge of painting. But here in Rome he continued to improve, and delighting in working on a small scale, to which he felt inclined, genius led him in that direction.” , becoming a good miniaturist, and produced beautiful works, which went to Spain, as well as working for various personages and great princes, and carrying out things that brought him great praise. He also painted on a large scale, with success, and made many works for the Spanish nation. [...] This man painted few things for public places, because he was very busy making miniatures, which he carried out excellently, and he was paid a good price for; and many of his works have remained in hands of private individuals, and some of the most beautiful were sent to other parts of the world” (cfr. G. Baglione, Le Vite de' Pittori..., Rome 1642, pp. 86-87). In Rome Francesco da Castello developed a brilliant career, was portrayed by Hendrick Goltzius and associated with important Flemish figures and scholars, including Philips van Winghe, Abraham Ortelius and Hendrick de Raeff of Delft, called Enrico Corvino, who in 1603 married his daughter Caterina. Associated with the Congregation of the Virtuosi of the Pantheon, from 1577 he was a member of the Academy of Saint Luke, of which he was consul in 1588 and in 1591. His house soon became a meeting place for artists where many of his compatriots found hospitality and a valuable point of reference to introduce themselves to the Roman environment. In addition, together with Francesco da Castello they learned “the good way to paint small”, appropriating of the essential features of the master's style, as Baglione narrates about his German disciple Sigismondo Laire (ca. 1552-1639), who specialized in “coloring small figures on copper” and who “painted on various jewels, such as lapis lazuli, agates, emeralds, carnelians, and other things” (cfr. ibidem, p. 353). From these reports it is clear that Francesco da Castello was an artist appreciated by his contemporaries and well integrated into the Roman artistic and cultural environment. In recent years, the catalogue of works by the Flemish artist, best known for his large altar blades, has been expanded with new miniatures preserved in museums and private collections around the world. Among his most beautiful miniatures is the Adoration of the Virgin Mary. of the Magi from the Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid, characterized by a bright chromaticism with iridescent effects and a descriptive preciosity typical of the Flemish style. Another miniature, with the Annunciation, previously in the Luigi Koelliker collection, is the reworking of a widespread iconographic model. derived from the famous 13th century fresco of the Annunciation in the church of the Santissima Annunciata in Florence, in which the face of the Virgin, which according to tradition had been painted by angels, was particularly venerated and considered miraculous. In the mid-15th century, the sacred image acquired a special value for the Medici, who prohibited its reproduction at least until the early 16th century, when, due to continuous requests from influential figures of the time, permission was granted. to copy it. In 1584 Alessandro Allori painted a replica of it on behalf of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to send as a gift to Philip II of Spain, which is still preserved today in the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. A delightful image of the Guardian Angel, recently found in a private collection in Valencia, in addition to fulfilling a devotional function –typical of this kind of work– it gave protection to whoever owned it. The cult of the saints, ratified in the XXV and last session of the The Council of Trent (1563) had firmly spread the belief that her intercession was increased by reciting the prayers in the presence of her relics or her images, especially if the latter had been in contact with her remains or had been blessed by the Pope. . Relics and sacred images were often associated with the power to grant or transmit indulgences to those who possessed them. This aroused the desire of the powerful to have numerous relics and increased the production of devotional images that often represented especially venerated themes or considered miraculous, like the antiquae madonnas of the Roman basilicas. A flourishing art market thus developed, largely made up of small sacred images of medium or high quality, the most prestigious examples of which were kept in reliquaries or finely framed, intended for a Catholic clientele not only in Italy but also abroad. Among the recipients Among these objects were numerous representatives of the most important noble lineages of Spain, eager to imitate the extraordinary devotion of Philip II for the relics that the monarch kept by the thousands in the Monastery of El Escorial and which he adored and kissed with the utmost reverence. A complex portable altar in ebony made up of various compartments with miniatures, sold at Sotheby's with an erroneous attribution to Giovanni Battista Castello the Genoese (Genoa, 1549-1639), is however most certainly the work of Francesco da Castello. The central miniature represents The Virgin of the Rosary with the Child and Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-1590) kneeling at her feet with various saints in adoration, among whom St. Catherine of Siena and St. Dominic can be distinguished in the foreground. The central scene is Surrounded by the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, the Last Supper appears at the bottom and the Angelic Paradise at the top of the frame, while in the corners are the four evangelists followed by two other compartments with the apostles Peter and Paul. In relation to the examples cited, the two refined miniatures of the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Crowning with Thorns are works from the artist's full maturity, datable to the first decade of the 17th century, characterized by formal simplification and pure colors in the workmanship of the clothes which stand out against the ivory complexions of the figures. Among the numerous motifs comparable to those of other miniatures by Francesco da Castello, the small medallions with the Evangelists barely outlined on a gold background, closely recall the miniatures, of reduced dimensions, inserted in the compartments of the frame of the small altar with the Mysteries of the Rosary, as well as those of another small painting with compartments with the Tree of Jesse preserved in the Valencia Institute of Don Juan de Madrid, of which there is another period version earlier and with a marked Flemish influence with a reliquary frame currently in the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia. In addition, another version of the Crowning with Thorns, rectangular in format and slightly weaker in workmanship, was sold at Christie's with an erroneous attribution to Giovanni Battista Castello the Genoese, although the miniature must certainly be attributed to the "Romanized" Flemish master Francesco da Castello. . Thanks to Ms. Elena De Laurentiis, PhD, University of Genoa, for carrying out the study.
· Size: 23,5x1,5x28,5 cms.
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