Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Purchase of Miss Helen Clay Frick
2016.1.18
Saint Claire
circa 1911 – 1948 (Date created)
Pigment
Fresco
Paintings
48 in L
x
34.25 in W
(Image)
Russian;Italian
Painted after Simone Martini's Saint Claire (ca. 1325) from the Lower Church of San Francesco, Assisi. This panel depicts the fresco as it looked after more than six centuries and accompanies a reproduction of what the fresco would have looked like recently finished (2016.1.17).
Nicholas Lochoff (d. 1948)/ after/ Simone Martini (Sienese, c. 1284-1344)/ ST. CLAIRE/ Original (about 1325) in the Lower Church of San Francesco, Assisi/ Fresco/ St. Claire was the founder of the Order of Poor Claires, a female order that followed the strict ideals of the Franciscans. Claire wears the plain gray habit of her order. St. Claire was an important supporter of St. Francis, and it was in an olive grove near her abbey that he composed his "Canticles of the Sun." The original of this painting was part of a cycle that included St. Francis, St. Louis of Toulouse, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary. This copy, showing the effects of time on the medium, should be compared to Lochoff's other rendition of the same painting in this Cloister, which shows the fresco as Lochoff imagined it looked in its original state.
Saint Clara is one of four half-length figures separated by painted colonnettes, the others being Saint Francis, Saint Louis of Toulouse, and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. The dating of Simone's work at Assisi is much disputed but it was probably done about 1325. Clare of Assisi and her sister Agnes founded the Order of Poor Ladies under the guidance of Saint Francis. It was in an olive grove near hear Abbey of San Damiano that Saint Francis composed his "Canticle of the Sun." These two panels in fresco illustrate vividly Lochoff's ability to reconstruct a painting as it appeared immediately following completion and as it looks more than six centuries later (Walter Read Hovey, The Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building, 1965).
Saint Clara is one of four half-length figures separated by painted colonnettes, the others being Saint Francis, Saint Louis of Toulouse, and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. The dating of Simone's work at Assisi is much disputed but it was probably done about 1325. Clare of Assisi and her sister Agnes founded the Order of Poor Ladies under the guidance of Saint Francis. It was in an olive grove near hear Abbey of San Damiano that Saint Francis composed his "Canticle of the Sun." These two panels in fresco illustrate vividly Lochoff's ability to reconstruct a painting as it appeared immediately following completion and as it looks more than six centuries later (Walter Read Hovey, The Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building, 1965).
In Collection
Purchased by Miss Helen Clay Frick for the University of Pittsburgh (1959-present)
Boris Lochoff (until 1959);By 1917 Lochoff had only finished and sent back to his home country 8 of these paintings. That same year there was a revolution in Russia. Lochoff was therefore stranded in Italy and cut off from the support previously provided by the Moscow Museum of Art. He was forced to sell the remaining paintings to other buyers. These buyers included Harvard University, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, and the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. After Lochoff's death, Helen Clay Frick, the woman who started the Fine Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh and donated the Frick Fine Arts building to the University, acquired this collection with the help of critic and connoisseur, Bernard Berenson. She then donated it to the University of Pittsburgh to adorn the walls of this cloister.
Boris Lochoff (until 1959);By 1917 Lochoff had only finished and sent back to his home country 8 of these paintings. That same year there was a revolution in Russia. Lochoff was therefore stranded in Italy and cut off from the support previously provided by the Moscow Museum of Art. He was forced to sell the remaining paintings to other buyers. These buyers included Harvard University, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, and the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. After Lochoff's death, Helen Clay Frick, the woman who started the Fine Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh and donated the Frick Fine Arts building to the University, acquired this collection with the help of critic and connoisseur, Bernard Berenson. She then donated it to the University of Pittsburgh to adorn the walls of this cloister.
Mary Logan Berenson, "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930), pp. 628-638.
Zoa Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters", The Christian Science Monitor, Weekly Magazine section. (October 31, 1934), pp. 8-9; ill. p. 8.
Zoe Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters: Nicholas Lochoff - captures aura of antiquity in exact copies of Italy's fading treasures". (1934)
Edgar Peters Bowron, "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). pp. 131, not repr.
"[Unidentified article]". Fogg Art Museum Notes. Fogg Art Museum. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
"A Copy of Gozzoli's Masterpiece". The Harvard Crimson. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "Preserving the Old Masters by Copying", Transcript (December 31, 1930). p.5, reproduced b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930). pp. 628-638.
Royal Cortissoz. "Their Appeal to Lovers of our True Tradition". New York Herald Tribune. New York, NY. (March 15, 1931). p.8
Maurice Grosser. "Painter's Progress". C.N. Potter. New York, NY. (1971). Reproduced. p.32, fig. 10.
Edgar Peters Bowron. "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard University Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). p.110.
Bill Homisak. "Fabulous Renaissance fakes at Frick offer faux fun". Tribune-Review. (August 27, 1989).
Jonathon Keats. "Forged: Why Fakes Are the Great Art of Our Age". Oxford University Press. (2013).
Zoa Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters", The Christian Science Monitor, Weekly Magazine section. (October 31, 1934), pp. 8-9; ill. p. 8.
Zoe Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters: Nicholas Lochoff - captures aura of antiquity in exact copies of Italy's fading treasures". (1934)
Edgar Peters Bowron, "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). pp. 131, not repr.
"[Unidentified article]". Fogg Art Museum Notes. Fogg Art Museum. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
"A Copy of Gozzoli's Masterpiece". The Harvard Crimson. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "Preserving the Old Masters by Copying", Transcript (December 31, 1930). p.5, reproduced b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930). pp. 628-638.
Royal Cortissoz. "Their Appeal to Lovers of our True Tradition". New York Herald Tribune. New York, NY. (March 15, 1931). p.8
Maurice Grosser. "Painter's Progress". C.N. Potter. New York, NY. (1971). Reproduced. p.32, fig. 10.
Edgar Peters Bowron. "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard University Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). p.110.
Bill Homisak. "Fabulous Renaissance fakes at Frick offer faux fun". Tribune-Review. (August 27, 1989).
Jonathon Keats. "Forged: Why Fakes Are the Great Art of Our Age". Oxford University Press. (2013).
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.
Italians
Renaissance
Cloisters
Architectural decorations and ornaments
Saint Claire
Frescoes
Chapels
Siena
Renaissance
Cloisters
Architectural decorations and ornaments
Saint Claire
Frescoes
Chapels
Siena