Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher

Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 200. The Miracle of St Benedict and the Visigoth, Zalla.

Property from the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas

Ferrarese School, late 16th century

The Miracle of St Benedict and the Visigoth, Zalla

Lot Closed

December 9, 03:35 PM GMT

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas

Ferrarese School, late 16th century

The Miracle of St Benedict and the Visigoth, Zalla


oil on copper

unframed: 45.7 x 36 cm.; 18 x 14⅛ in.

framed: 71.4 x 62.1 cm.; 28⅛ x 24½ in.

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 December 2016, lot 114;
Where acquired by Sir Peter Jonas (1946–2020).

The miracle of Saint Benedict and the Arian Visigoth, Zalla, is recounted by Pope Gregory the Great in his Life of Saint Benedict. The narrative here is woven through the landscape on the left-hand side of the composition, culminating in the foreground. Zalla was a merciless persecutor of devout Catholics and one day alighted upon a farmer, torturing him for his money. The farmer pleaded with his tormentor, telling him his fortune was in the hands of Abbot Benedict, upon which Zalla bound the man's wrists and forced him to lead the way to the abbey. On arriving there and finding Saint Benedict at the entrance, Zalla attempted to intimidate the Abbot into handing over money. With one glance from Benedict, however, the cords around the farmer's hands miraculously fell to the ground, at which Zalla himself prostrated himself in the face of this divine power, humbled into renouncing his former cruelty.


One of the most striking aspects of this composition is the face of the monk who looks out to engage the viewer in the scene. It is tempting to speculate as to whether this might represent a portrait of the artist, or the patron who commissioned this rare painting, possibly as part of a series depicting episodes from the life of the saint.


For more information on the Collection of Sir Peter Jonas, please see: Sir Peter Jones: A Lifelong Love of Old Masters