Le Retable de Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Masterpiece of Renaissance Glass Painting

Altarpieces are decorated vertical constructions, placed in the background of the altar of a church, whose role is mainly liturgical, with a decorative function that can be essential.
This work embodies Renaissance art in many ways. It is first and foremost a reflection of this through its iconography: four scenes from the Passion of Christ drawn from the repertoires of Raphael's art and the art of the North, disseminated throughout Europe thanks to prints made after the models of the greatest painters of the time. The design of the panels is also fascinating. They were executed using the technique of painting under glass, which leads the artist to think backwards in his work: the pictorial layer and gilding are applied to the reverse of the glass support, starting with the highlights and shadows until the base layer that constitutes the background. It is therefore a particularly sophisticated technique.
Nevertheless, several questions remain about this work, in particular about the context of its commission and its homogeneity; Its history, from its creation in 1549 to its first mention in the mid-nineteenth century in the local press, remains just as mysterious.
This book proposes to take stock of these questions, in the light of recent research and studies in conservation-restoration and archives.

French
64 pages / 40 illustrations

Éditions GrandPalaisRmn
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