Saint Peter Martyr Exorcizing a Woman Possessed by a Devil
Antonio Vivarini·c. 1450
Historical Context
Antonio Vivarini, a leading painter of mid-fifteenth-century Venice, created this panel depicting Saint Peter Martyr — the Dominican friar and inquisitor assassinated in 1252 — performing an exorcism. The scene shows Peter Martyr commanding a demon to leave a possessed woman, a popular subject in Dominican iconography that emphasized the order's spiritual authority. Painted around 1450, this work reflects the strong Dominican patronage networks in the Veneto region and the importance of miracle narratives in promoting the cult of saints.
Technical Analysis
Executed in tempera on panel in the Venetian Gothic tradition, the painting features the gold ground and decorative patterning characteristic of Vivarini's early style, before the full adoption of oil technique in Venice.
Provenance
Paolo Paolini, Rome; sold American Art Association, New York, December 10–11, 1924, no. 90, as Quirizio da Murano, to George F. Harding, Jr. [according to Harding Museum papers in the Art Institute archives]; George F. Harding , Jr. (d. 1939), Chicago, from 1924; bequeathed to the George F. Harding Museum, Chicago; offered for sale Sotheby’s, New York, December 2, 1976, no 28, ill., withdrawn; transferred to the Art Institute, 1983.
.jpg&width=600)
