Metalware objects and society
Vincenzo Catena, A Warrior adoring the Infant Christ and Virgin, after 1520 (oil on canvas, 155.3 x 263.5 cm). National Gallery, London.
In the fifteenth century, inlayed metalwork became extremely popular in Italy, and throughout northern Europe in the following century. Although the majority of metalworks mostly originated from Syria and Egypt, the influence and style of Spanish metalwork also reached as far as Venice. Testimonies from the period attest of the true quality, refinement and taste for this kind of metalwork, which included all kinds of objects, from bowls and plates to chandeliers and incense-burners.
Bridle, Royal workshop of Boabdil (Granada), late 15th or early 16th century (copper-gilt with copper granulation and cloisonné enamel, 38.6 x 21.4 cm). British Museum, London.
Vincenzo Catena, who in parallel to his activity as a painter was a Venetian merchant, depicted in his Warrior Adoring the Virgin and Infant Christ several metalwork objects of Islamic style. The horse’s headstall in particular is striking in similarity to one produced by the royal workshop of Boabdil, last king of Granada, in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. These objects have led some art historians to question whether the scene could represent the warrior’s conversion to Christianity, especially since an account from the early sixteenth century describes such an event occurring in Venice. On the other hand, his breastplate, chainmail and silk cap are those of a Christian knight. Either way, Catena’s warrior is representative of Venice’s cosmopolitanism in the sixteenth century.
Detail from A Warrior Adoring the Infant Christ and the Virgin by Vincenzo Catena.
