Italian School circa 1500 | Ecole italienne vers 1500

Collection of Sir Abraham Hume (1749-1838), since 1787;

Collection of The Right Honourable Lord Brownlow;

Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, 14 December 1990, lot 377 (as Circle of Tomaso Manzuoli);

Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, 9 December 1994, lot 341 (as Attributed to Giovanni Francesco Penni);

Private Collection.

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Collection de Sir Abraham Hume (1749-1838), depuis 1787 ;

Collection de Lord Brownlow ;

Vente anonyme, Christie’s, Londres, 14 décembre 1990, lot 377 (comme Entourage de Tomaso Manzuoli) ;

Vente anonyme, Christie’s, Londres, 9 décembre 1994, lot 341 (comme Attribué à Giovanni Francesco Penni) ;

Collection particulière.

A descriptive catalogue of a collection of pictures, comprehending specimens of all the various schools of paintings, belonging to Sir Abraham Hume, London 1824, no. 47 (as Fra Bartolomeo).

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A descriptive catalogue of a collection of pictures, comprehending specimens of all the various schools of paintings, belonging to Sir Abraham Hume, Londres, 1824, n° 47 (comme Fra Bartolomeo).

St James is shown seated, facing the viewer, his imposing build slightly dominating. The quality is unarguable and the painting has been the subject of several attributions: Fra Bartolomeo, Tommaso Manzuoli and Giovanni Francesco Penni have been suggested, but it has not proved possible to confirm any of them.

In the eighteenth century, the work attracted the attention of Sir Abraham Hume, a major British political figure and a Tory MP. His fortune allowed him to assemble a particularly important collection over the course of his life, as can be seen from the catalogue of his works published in 1824 (see Bibliography). The present painting is mentioned in it, alongside works by the most eminent artists of the Italian Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci, Veronese and Titian. Later, the work was in the collection of Lord Brownlow, who married one of Sir Abraham Hume’s two daughters. 

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Représenté assis, saint Jacques nous fait face et domine légèrement le spectateur de sa stature imposante. D’une qualité indéniable, notre tableau a fait l’objet de plusieurs attributions : les noms de Fra Bartolomeo, Tommaso Manzuoli et de Giovanni Francesco Penni furent ainsi suggérés, sans toutefois pouvoir être définitivement retenus.

Dès le XVIII^e siècle, l’œuvre avait intéressé Sir Abraham Hume, figure politique britannique majeure au sein des conservateurs, dont la fortune lui permit de rassembler durant toute sa vie une collection particulièrement importante. Le catalogue qui lui est consacré, paru en 1824 (voir Bibliographie), en témoigne. Notre tableau y est mentionné, aux côtés des œuvres des artistes les plus prestigieux de la Renaissance italienne, parmi lesquels Léonard de Vinci ou encore Véronèse et le Titien. Par la suite, l’œuvre figure dans la collection de Lord Brownlow, époux de l’une des deux filles de Sir Abraham Hume.