St. Matthew and the Angel

Object belonging

One's own

Category

Terracotta sculpture

City

Rome

Location

Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia

Specific location

Room 21

Inventory

PV 10401

Material and technique

Terracotta/ patina

Author

Sculptor active in Rome in the early 17th century

Dating

Early 17th century

Dimensions

40.5 x 22.5 cm.

Origin

Pollak Collection (1947)

Image copyright

SSPSAE e per il Polo Museale della città di Roma

Short description

This sculpture became part of the Palazzo Venezia collection in 1952, following the donation of Margaret Nicod Sussmann in memory of her brother-in-law, the archaeologist Ludwig Pollak. It is not in perfect condition due to the damage caused by the humid storage conditions when it was housed during the Second World War, causing the outer layers to flake; both hands of the saint are also missing and the facial features of both figures are somewhat flattened. Matthew is seated with his legs slightly splayed, holding a book on his left leg with the help of an angel, who is standing by his side; the saint is in the act of writing and turns his head quickly to the right, drawn by the sudden light. The reverse is smooth, with the folds of the evangelist’s mantle barely carved, suggesting it was intended to be placed in a niche or near a wall, and there is a wide crack, allowing for the inside to be hollowed out. The work was first studied by Valentino Martinelli (1951) who demonstrated the close link with the travertine sculpture of a similar subject realized in 1608 by Francesco Mochi (1580-1654) for a niche on the outside of the Paolina chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore. Santangelo (1954), although recognizing a certain affinity with Mochi’s work, and with the Sant’Atanasio by Nicolas Cordier (1567-1612), which is still in Santa Maria Maggiore, rejected the attribution, seeing instead the early traits of Stefano Maderno’s style (1570-1636). One can only agree with Santangelo and Barberini that the work is not consonant with Mochi’s style, where his figures have elongated bodies and are always invested with movement, almost contorted by an inner spiritual force that seems to reverberate in the clothes and mantles, with their many concentric folds. It seems much more pertinent to focus instead on Stefano Maderno, the author of numerous terracotta groups, copies of classical models and original creations.

Cristiano Giometti 

Bibliography

V. Martinelli, Contributi alla scultura del Seicento: Francesco Mochi, in "Commentari", 2, 1951, p. 228; A. Santangelo (ed.), Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo delle sculture, Rome 1954, p. 84-85; M. G. Barberini (ed.), Sculture in terracotta del Barocco romano. Bozzetti e modelli del Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, exh. cat., Rome 1991, p. 31; O. Ferrari and S. Papaldo, Le sculture del Seicento a Roma, Rome 1999, p. 510; M. Favero, Francesco Mochi: una carriera di scultore, Trento 2008, p. 105