Vincenzo Foppa of Brescia, founder of the Lombard school, his life ...

I04
VINCENZO FOPPA
formerly kept . . . and the chests (containing these relics) were standing
round about the wall of the said chamber."^
There is no doubt, therefore, that the relics, instead of being in the
chapel, were in a totally different part of the Castello ; and this authorizes
the belief that after the death of the Duke the decoration of the chapel was
never finished, and probably was never thought of more. From this same inventory,
however, as well as from a later one of November 22, 1499,^ we
might perhaps conclude that a portion at least, of Foppa's work had been
preserved, namely, some of the large paintings executed by him which were
intended to form the most important part of the ancona reliquary. This we
gather from the following extracts from the inventory, which make it evident
that numerous relics, instead of being in the usual caskets of wood, ivory,
or glass, were inserted in the pictures themselves which were painted on panel.
1. Item, a Majestas^ painted on wood, with eleven pieces of glass or compartments,
containing the undermentioned relics, viz. a relic of the Holy
Cross, etc.
2. Item, another Majestas painted on wood, with thirteen compartments,
round, with the image of Our Lord and Saviour hanging on the Cross in the
centre of the Majestas, and with the following compartments inserted in the
said Majestas, viz. first, relics of the B. Virgin, etc.
3. Item, in a certain Majestas, painted on wood, the following relics are
inserted, viz. first, some bones of St. Dorothy. Item, the blood of St.
Thomas the Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury, etc. etc., and . . . these
relics are all
under glass in the said Majestas.
4. Item, a Majestas covered or wrought with embroidery golden or yellow
^ " In camera inferiori existente in ture dicti castri respondente deversus parcum et
deversus sero, ubi alias erat thesaurus 111' Principis, et . . . sunt . . . capse circum
circa murum ipsius camere " (Inventory, November 29, 1487. Arch. Not. Pavia, Atti
di L. Gravanago, pacco 1517-30).
2 Arch. Not. Pavia, Atti di Agostino Gravanago.
^ The term Majestas was principally used to denote a figure of the Almighty
enthroned, or of Our Lord upon the Cross, but it was also employed in a more general
sense to describe any representation of the Madonna and saints (see also chap. 11).
We have countless examples in fifteenth century documents of the use of " Maiestas
lignea" to denote a painting on panel.
" I. Item maiestas una lignea cum undecim petiis vitreis sive capitulis in quibus
sunt infrascripte reliquie videlicet : de ligno sancte Crucis, etc.
"2. Item alia maiestas lignea cum tredecim capitulis cum imagine Domini Salvatoris
nostri pendentis super cruce in medio maiestatis, et cum infrascriptis capitulis in
dicta maiestate insertis, videlicet : primo reliquia sancte Marie, etc.
"3. Item in maiestate quadam lignea adsunt infrascripte reliquie incluxe videlicet
: primo de ossibus sancte Dorotee. Item de sanguine Sancti Thome martiris