We don’t have an image of this object online yet. V&A Images may have a photograph that we can’t show online, but it may be possible to supply one to you. Email us at vaimages@vam.ac.uk for guidance about fees and timescales, quoting the accession number: 361-1898
Find out about our images

Not currently on display at the V&A

Apostles and saints

Fresco
ca 1520-1550 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This fresco fragment depicting Apostles and Saints once formed the lower right part of a lunette depicting the Ascension of Christ. It was originally in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione, next to San Ambrogio, Milan. Painted in the style of the Milanese painter and draughtsman Bernardino Luini (born ca 1480–85; died before 1 July 1532) it probably dates to the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

The Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione was sold to the Administration of San Ambrogio in 1812 and turned into a cloth factory. In 1869 it passed into private ownership and it was at this time that the main scenes of the wall decoration were detached. Part of the series re-appeared in England in 1898 when a group of nine fragments were sold through Fosters' sales rooms. Three of these were purchased by the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleApostles and saints (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Fresco transferred to canvas
Brief description
Fresco fragment transferred to canvas; originally forming the lower right part of a lunette depicting the Ascension and located in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione, Milan; after Bernardino Luini; ca 1520 - 1550
Physical description
Fresco
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 90.8cm
  • Estimate width: 262.3cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800, C.M. Kauffmann, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1973
Object history
Purchased by V&A, along with two related fragments (359 and 360-1898), from Fosters' sale rooms in 1898
Subjects depicted
Summary
This fresco fragment depicting Apostles and Saints once formed the lower right part of a lunette depicting the Ascension of Christ. It was originally in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione, next to San Ambrogio, Milan. Painted in the style of the Milanese painter and draughtsman Bernardino Luini (born ca 1480–85; died before 1 July 1532) it probably dates to the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

The Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione was sold to the Administration of San Ambrogio in 1812 and turned into a cloth factory. In 1869 it passed into private ownership and it was at this time that the main scenes of the wall decoration were detached. Part of the series re-appeared in England in 1898 when a group of nine fragments were sold through Fosters' sales rooms. Three of these were purchased by the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Kauffmann, C.M., Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1973, pp. 176-7, cat. no. 218.
Collection
Accession number
361-1898

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 21, 2006
Record URL
Download as: JSON