Bartolomeo di Segnolo Caporali

This pair of roundels originally formed part of an altarpiece predella, which also included Christ as the Man of Sorrows (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, inv. no. WA1951.7). All three feature the same trompe l'oeil detail of the illusionary shadowed border, making it appear as if they were lit by an external light source shining from the viewer's right. The two saints, who hold their apostolic attributes, are rendered with great attention to surface detail. The men's furrowed brows and deep crow's feet are as exactingly depicted as their curly hair and curlicue beards. The elegant drapery defining the saints' robes is offset by the delicately incised haloes and other gilded elements, imbuing the small panels with a sense of ornate grandeur. Although largely active in Perugia, Bartolomeo di Segnalo Caporali was also influenced by certain Florentine painters, especially Benozzo Gozzoli, who worked in Umbria for a period. 

We are grateful to Professor de Marchi for confirming the attribution to Bartolomeo di Segno Caporali upon first-hand inspection and for suggesting that the panels date to the painter's youthful period in the 1460s. An alternate attribution to the Master of the Pietà of San Costanzo, an anonymous follower of Caporali, has been proposed by Dr. Emanuele Zappasodi.