The Assassination of Saint Peter the Martyr (after Titian)
attributed to Pier Francesco Mola (Coldrerio 1612 – Rome 1666)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas (arched top)
Measurements
1270 x 711 mm (50 x 28 in)
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732264
Caption
St Peter Martyr (c.1205 –1252) was a Dominican Friar born in Verona. According to the mediaeval story in the Golden Legend, he was killed at the behest of two Venetian noblemen, also Cathar heretics, whose property he had confiscated on the road to Milan. This dramatic scene shows the moment when Peter, recognised by his white tunic underneath a long black cloak and hood, has stumbled in the forest, lying on the ground with his hands raised in defence, whist his companion flees in terror. His assassin is about to strike him with his sword. Angels hold the martyr’s palm above. He was recognised as a saint by the Pope the year after his death. This is an early copy of many of Titian’s arched-topped altarpiece that was in the Church of SS Giovanni e Paolo ('San Zanipolo') [the Frari] in Venice before it was destroyed by fire in 1867.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas (arched top), The Assassination of Saint Peter the Martyr (after Titian), attributed to Pier Francesco Mola (Coldrerio 1612 – Rome 1666). A seventeenth-century copy after a Titian original formerly in the Church of SS Giovanni e Paolo ('San Zanipolo') (the Frari) in Venice which was destroyed by fire in 1867.
Provenance
Acquired by Richard Colt Hoare 2nd Bt (1758 – 1838); given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946.
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Inscribed on back of frame (stretcher renewed) in white paint: 460
Makers and roles
attributed to Pier Francesco Mola (Coldrerio 1612 – Rome 1666), artist after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576), artist