Colnaghi Foundation Journal 03 - Magazine - Page 189
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Onofre Falcó, a Spanish Renaissance master
the Stigmata, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Jerome, and Saint
Vincent Ferrer flanking it. Luis Mesa i Reig noted that
the coats-of-arms of the Martí of Torres and Vilarrasa
families may indicate that the patrons were Miguel
García de Aguilar y Çaera and Francesca Margarita
de Vilarrasa, uncle and aunt of the Baron of Estivella,
Martí de Torres de Aguilar.19
Fig. 8 / Attributed to
Onofre Falcó, the Triptych
of the Virgin of the
Litanies, oil and tempera
on panel, 46.7 x 37.3 cm,
Hartford, Wadsworth
Atheneum.
Another work, which Antonio Gómez Arribas rightly
attributed to Onofre Falcó is the triptych in the
Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, previously ascribed
to Joan de Joanes or his circle.20 When seen open (fig. 8),
the altarpiece presents a central panel depicting the Virgin
of the Litanies, a composition that includes the Loretan
symbols with typical scrolls. The two doors depict the
Adoration of the Magi and Saint Martin Dividing his Cloak
Onofre Falcó, a Spanish Renaissance master
with the Poor, respectively. With its doors closed (fig. 9) the
triptych shows the two Saint Johns full-length (the Baptist
with the lamb, and the Evangelist with the chalice).
A further two paired panels of Saint John the Baptist
and Saint Mammes of Caesarea (117.8 x 58.4 cm) have
also been convincingly attributed to Falcó by Antonio
Gómez Arribas. Catalogued as circle of Joan de Joanes,
they were sold at Christie’s New York on 15 April 2008
(no. 302) and 26 October 2016 (no. 131). The Saint John
the Baptist (fig. A) is nearly identical to the same figure in
the above-mentioned triptych in Hartford. The subject of
Saint Mammes of Caesarea (fig. B), a third-century martyr,
is uncommon in the region of Valencia. The saint is
shown next to the lions which he pacified when thrown
to them in the arena.
Fig. 9 / Onofre Falcó, The
Saints John, outer doors of
the Triptych of the Virgin
of the Litanies, oil on panel,
Hartford, Wadsworth
Atheneum.
Fig. A / Onofre Falcó, Saint
John the Baptist, oil on
panel, 117.8 x 58.4 cm,
Private Collection.
Fig. B / Onofre Falcó, Saint
Mamés of Cesarea, oil on
panel, 117.9 x 58.4 cm,
Private Collection.
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