Scenes from the Lives of Two Martyrs

Veronese School

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing from the Veronese School. The drawing shows a crowd gathered around two men tied to a stake on the edge of a city. The men are tied, one to face to the right, and one to the left; their hands are behind their backs and both have their head lowered. The stake is positioned to the left of the centre of the composition, and though there are no people directly behind it, there is a crowd to the left and to the right of it. Wood is stacked at the base, and curls of smoke are emanating from them. A man is crouched on the floor just to the left of the fire in some way engaged in stoking it. In the right foreground is a group in contemporary dress, and behind them a man wearing armour is seated on a horse. At the left edge of the composition is a large building and in the background are mountains. The text in the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society groups No.s 10 and 11 together. The text reads: "Nos. 10 and 11 VERONESE SCHOOL (About 1400) SCENES FROM THE LIVES OF TWO MARTYRS British Museum, 1860-6-16-66. From the Woodburn and Spencer (?) Collections. Pen and bistre, on red tinted paper. 12.7 x 15.6 cm. (5 x 6 1/8 in.) On the recto, in a baptistery, two adults, one male the other female, kneel to receive baptism; on the right of the priest who is officiating are assistants and acolytes, on the left a group of men and women looking on. On the verso, the same two persons (but the man is now bearded) are being burnt at the stake in an open space before a building; in the background, hills and distant buildings; groups of monks (on the left) and nuns (on the right), officers on horseback, and soldiers (some in Roman dress) assist at the martyrdom. In some respects, as in the drawing of the figures and faces, the shading, the use of red-tinted paper of the same quality, these drawings (although their handling is not quite so free), strongly recall the SloanE drawing in the British Museum (5226-57) with representations of the battle between Barbarossa and the Romans, and of the Emperor's reception of his son Otto. This has been attributed to Pisanello, but is certainly earlier, and belongs probably to the Veronese school in transition from Altichiero. The reproduction of the tint has not been attempted. G. F. H."