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Double-Tiered Triptych: Scenes from the Passion of Christ

 (French, act. 1493–1539)
Datemid-16th century
MediumPainted enamel on copper, partly gilded
Dimensions14 x 16 in. (35.6 x 40.6 cm) Upper central plaque: 5 1/2 × 11 in. (14 × 27.9 cm) Upper wings: 5 3/4 × 4 3/4 in. (14.6 × 12.1 cm) Lower central plaque: 9 7/8 × 11 3/8 in. (25.1 × 28.9 cm) Lower wings: 9 3/4 × 5 in. (24.8 × 12.7 cm)
Credit LineHenry Clay Frick Bequest
Accession number1916.4.03
Commentary

Although signed NARDON PÉNICAUD, this triptych was probably produced by a younger member of Pénicaud’s workshop, possibly after his death in 1541. The individual scenes derive in part from a series of engravings of the Passion of Christ by the German engraver and painter Martin Schongauer (ca. 1445–1491). The complex iconographic program starts with the plaque at the upper left that depicts Christ bearing the cross and returning to Veronica the veil she had offered him earlier, which now features an impression of his face. The Crucifixion is at the upper center, the Deposition at the lower left, and the Entombment in the lower central plaque. On the upper right, Christ’s victory over death is depicted in the triumphant Harrowing of Hell, followed by the Resurrection at the lower right. The triptych’s brilliance is achieved by the extensive use of silver foil beneath the translucent colored enamel.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Collection History

Said to have been bought in Italy in the eighteenth century by an ancestor of the Marqués de Ferraz, Barcelona, from whom it was acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York. Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.

Not On View
Polychrome enamel Triptych representing The Way to Calvary; The Crucifixion; The Desposition
Workshop of Nardon Pénicaud
ca. 1520−25
Front view of polychrome enamel Triptych representing The Way to Calvary; The Crucifixion; Piet…
Attributed to Jean Pénicaud I
ca. 1525−35
Front view of casket in polychrome enamel and gilt bronze with scenes from the Story of Joseph
Pierre Courteys
late 16th century
View from above of one of a pair of saltcellars made from polychrome enamel, showing the profil…
Suzanne de Court
late 16th or early 17th century
A pair of saltcellars made from polychrome enamel
Suzanne de Court
late 16th or early 17th century
Front view of an enamel plaque representing The Agony in the Garden in its decorative frame of …
Jean Pénicaud I
ca. 1520−25
Front view of enameled plaque representing the Martyrdom of a Saint
Attributed to Jean Pénicaud I
ca. 1525−35
Front view of enameled polychrome triptypch depicting The Way to Calvary; The Crucifixion; The …
Workshop of Master of the Large Foreheads
ca. 1510
Plaque: Christ Crowned with Thorns
Workshop of Pierre Reymond
mid- to late 16th century
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