『聖ヒエロニムス』

投稿者：鈴木小太郎 投稿日：2009年10月18日(日)15時07分7秒

＞筆綾丸さん
なるほど、未完成なんですか。
しかし、この絵自体、来歴はずいぶん奇妙なものですね。

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/jerome.html

The story of this painting is a little unbelievable, but as interesting as one could hope for. Originally in the Vatican collection it passed into the hands of Angelica Kaufmann. Supposedly it was then mislaid and someone cut it into two pieces. One section was converted into a table top while a shoemaker used the other portion for the upper part of a stool. Joseph Cardinal Fesch recognised the table painting in 1820; it is assumed he had already seen a drawing of the work somewhere. He purchased it from the Roman junk shop hoping to locate the missing segment, something he succeeded in doing several years afterwards. The painting was restored though obvious evidence of the cut out section can still be clearly seen. Heirs of Napoleon Bonaparte's uncle (Cardinal Fesch) later sold the ochre groundwork for twenty-five francs to Pope Pius IX; it was then placed back into the care of the Vatican where it still resides today.

１８世紀の女流画家、アンジェリカ・カウフマンの手元にあったとき、誰かがこの絵を二つに切り、ひとつはテーブル板、もうひとつは椅子の飾りに使われてしまっていた。ナポレオンの叔父である枢機卿ジョゼフ・フェッシェがローマのがらくた屋でテーブルを買い、数年後に残りも見つけた。修復されたけれども、切られてしまった痕跡は今でもくっきり残っている。ジョゼフ・フェッシェの相続人はローマ教皇ピウス９世に２５フランで売った。かくしてバチカンに保管され、今日に至る、と。
これではこの絵の方がよっぽど怪しい感じがしますね。

This is one of the very few paintings attributed to Leonardo over which there has never been any question. No contemporary references to the work have been found yet it is considered unmistakably his painting methods and structure; the similarity to Adoration of the Magi is also obvious.

ただし、これだけ変な来歴にもかかわらず、この絵が真作であることには全く疑いが持たれていないのである、と。
ふーむ。