(active in Palermo between 1444–1497)
Saint John the Evangelist enthroned, with Saint James the Greater and Saint Barbara,
tempera on panel, 146.5 x 119 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Galletti collection;
Private European collection

Literature:
M. C. Di Natale, Ancor Tommaso de Vigilia, il San Giovanni Evangelista tra i Santi Giacomo Maggiore e Barbara di collezione privata romana, in: Kronos, 13, 2009, 1, pp. 63-66, illustrated

The present work, attributed to Tommaso de Vigilia by Federico Zeri (Fototeca Zeri n. 20882), was published by Maria Concetta di Natale in 2009 and it is a rare panel by the artist who was active in Sicily between 1444 and 1494. Documents confirm that he executed the altarpiece of the Presentation of the Virgin (Palermo Cathedral). His style reflects the influence of Antonello da Messina as well as revealing Spanish elements and details deriving from the late gothic manner of central Italian artists, like Antonio da Fabriano and Gasparo da Pesaro.
The figure of Saint John the Evangelist, depicted in the present panel, can be compared to Saint John the Evangelist in the Galleria Regionale di Sicilia, Palermo (signed and dated 1460). The gallery also has another depiction of Saint John the Evangelist, which is also closely related to the present work but belongs to the mature period of the artist’s production; it is signed and dated 1492.