Saint Christopher

The work is one of a group of three statues.

See also Inv. S 119 - S 120

The group of sculptures, which comes from the portal of the oratory of Santa Maria e San Cristoforo in the hospital of San Marcello in Vicenza, arrived in the museum in two stages: the head of Saint Vincent, separated from the body, was brought to Palazzo Chiericati in 1879, while the remaining three statues arrived only later, in 1952.

The sculptures have suffered serious damage over the years: some parts are missing, such as the right foot of Saint Christopher, the left hand of the Virgin and the head of the Child, breaks and chips can be seen in many areas, and the surface is corroded in several points. The halos that the figures wore on their heads have been lost and the staff that Saint Vincent held in his right hand. Despite the precarious state of preservation of the group, some traces of colour can still be seen, showing the original polychrome finish of the sculptures.

The three statues, which differ slightly in their dimensions, show some clear differences in style. Some parts, such as the attitudes of the body and the folds in the drapery of the Madonna (her face has been severely damaged and is difficult to distinguish) or the foreshortened face of Saint Christopher are made with particular care; others show some weakness, such as the lack of proportion between Saint Christopher’s feet, which are too big, and his legs which are too thin, and the immobility of Saint Vincent, tightly enclosed in his vestment.

It is particularly difficult to give a name to the creator of the three sculptures, which were probably produced by an artist active in the Lombardy-Veneto area between the eighth and the ninth decade of the fifteenth century.