Anonymous, Venetian-School
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Sts. Cosmas and Damian
circa 1600, oil on canvas, 115 x 152 cm
NG S 1116
The motif of this picture has not yet been identified with complete reliability. The portrayed saints, who are highlighted with halos and are seated at a desk, are almost surely the twin brothers Cosmas and Damian; that is indicated by the almost identical features of their faces and their clothing, red coats with fur edgings. Should the identification of the saints as Cosmas and Damian be correct, then the depicted scene shows the saints learning medical skills under the tutelage of an angel. But such a scene cannot be found in either the written or the oral legends on which the iconography of these saints is based in Western European painting. We cannot exclude the possibility that the source for this depiction must be sought in some minor, hitherto unknown text from the Orthodox cultural sphere. The stylistic characteristics of the painting, the colours, and also the repertoire of forms would indicate a Venetian provenance. The brushwork, in particular on the heads, does suggest the influence of Jacopo Tintoretto and his school, while the physical types of the figures, especially the angel, have some similarities to the schemes of Tintoretto, Palma the Younger and their imitators.
A more exact attribution is still open; the painting should be dated to around the year 1600, if not even later.
Exhibition: 1983, Ljubljana, No. 5.
Lit: Zeri [& Rozman] 1983, p. 103, Cat. and Fig. No. 5.
Restored: 1982, Kemal Selmanović.
Provenance: Unknown. The Presidium of the Government of Slovenia entrusted it to the Narodna galerija in 1950.
Owner:
National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana
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