|
The three panels in the Brera painted by an anonymous follower of Giotto, representing scenes from the life of St Colomba, belonged to a triptych, probably executed for the old cathedral of Rimini, dedicated to St Colomba and demolished in 1815. According to a plausible theory that is not universally accepted by scholars, the panels belonged to a double-faced composition placed on the high altar of the cathedral. Other panels of this work are in the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris; the Galleria Sabauda, Turin; and the Friedenthal collection, Ingenheim.
St Colomba, the virgin of Sens, was martyred during the reign of the Emperor Aurelian. Confined in a house of prostitution, she was rescued from dishonour by a bear. The same animal saved her again when an attempt was made to kill her by burning down the cell in which she was locked. Finally, the Emperor - instigated by the devil - had her dragged out of town, where she was beheaded by the soldiers.
In the three small panels in the Brera, the main episodes in this legend are represented with subtle variations in composition and rhythm. In St Colomba before the Emperor the courtyard is shown frontally, and the foreshortening of the architecture does not follow a unified perspective scheme. The splaying out of the sides appears to enlarge the ground on which the motionless figures stand.
|
