St Andrew comes ‘home’ for anniversary

A RARE Renaissance painting of Scotland’s patron saint is to be unveiled today in St Andrews – the town where tradition has it that his relics arrived more than 1,000 years ago.

The Earl of Wemyss is to lend The Crucifixion of St Andrew, by the 17th-century Italian master Carlo Maratta, to the Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA) for the duration of the institution’s 600th anniversary celebrations.

“It is wonderful to have on public show, this iconic image of St Andrew, so closely identified with this town and country since the Middle Ages,” Professor Ian Carradice, director of the university’s museum collections, said.

The picture is part of the rich Wemyss collection at Gosford House in East Lothian. The family’s connections with the university go back to the 18th century, when the 7th and 8th earls studied there.

New research suggests the painting may have been bought by the family as early as 1740, when the 6th earl, a staunch Jacobite, visited the court of the Old Pretender in Rome before the 1745 rebellion. He also bought Pompeo Batoni’s Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is now on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland.

Legend has it that St Andrew’s remains were carried to Scotland at some point in the 9th century by the monk Regulus. His relics, including an arm bone, a tooth, a knee-cap and three fingers, are said to be buried in the city.

The painting shows the dramatic scene of his crucifixion. It will be on public display in St Andrews until 2013.

The artist Maratta lived in Rome from 1625 to 1713. His scene of St Andrew’s adoration of the cross has been praised for its striking and bold figures and “vigorous energy”. Earlier this year, The Crucifixion of St Andrew was valued at £2 million.

“It will be quite wonderful to have it on show. It’s an important work of art,” said university art historian Professor Peter Humfrey, a leading authority on Italian art.

“The university is rather lacking in old master paintings, so this is a wonderful addition to have here during the celebrations.”

There is no single major example of Maratta’s work in public galleries in the UK, Prof Humfrey said. A large English collection was sold to the Hermitage in Russia in the 18th century.

AXA Art Insurance has agreed to sponsor the Maratta painting, as a gift to the university’s 600th anniversary campaign, through waiving the insurance costs for both the transit of the work and its time in St Andrews.