Netherlands, late 15th century (Follower of Rogier van der Weyden) Saint Helena and Saint Veronica Pair of oils on oak panels, polyptych elements For Sainte Hélène: annotated 'Sainte Hélène / 701 / 33' in ink on verso For sainte Véronique: annotated 'Sainte Véronique / 701 / 5(...)' in ink on verso Annotated 'Van der Veyden / n° 196 / Sale / Leroy d'Etiolles / 22 February 1861 / from / the Gallerie / du Cardinal / Fesch' in ink on the frame verso (Restorations) Saint Helena and Saint Veronica, oil on oak panels, a pair, Netherlands, late15th C., follower of Rogier van der Weyden 24.21 x 7.68 in. 61.5 x 19.5 cm Provenance: Collection of Cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), an old inscription on the frame on the reverse (the works appear in the death inventory of Cardinal Fesch drawn up in 1839: 'Due quadri in tavola alto piede uno, e cinque sesti, larghi pollici sette rappresentanti uno la Religione e l'altro la Veronica di Scuola Tedesca Scudi Dieci l'uno, in tutto Scudi Venti 20', no. 15553 and no. 15554; the panels are also described in the catalogue of paintings in his collection in Rome drawn up in 1841: 'Sainte Véronique, cette figurine peinte dans un style noble, et d'une belle exécution, appartient à l'école allemande; la Religion Chrétienne, on trouve dans ce tableau les mêmes qualités que celles indiquées ci-dessous', n° 2370 et 2371); Collection of Dr. Jean-Jacques-Joseph Leroy d'Etiolles (1798-1860), surgeon and urologist, Paris; Sa vente après décès; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Mes Escribe et Febvre, 21 February 1861, no. 136; Private collection, Île de France Our two panels are very probably the outer shutters of a polyptych that was dismantled in the course of history, the grisaille technique being the most common for panels that are revealed when the work is in the closed position. The figure of Saint Veronica, painted in a subtle monochrome of whites and greys, with only the complexions of Christ and the Saint revealed in colour, was freely inspired by the figure by Rogier van der Weyden in his altarpiece in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. no. 901). The figure of Veronica became very popular during the 15th century, and a number of altarpieces and paintings, both Nordic and Italian, reproduce this now-famous iconography of the saint wearing the veil she wiped from Christ's face during his Passion, revealing his Holy Face. A rarer representation is that of Saint Helen. Helen, mother of Constantine, turned to Christianity after her son, the first Roman emperor, converted at the beginning of the fourth century. The Saint devoted her life to this new faith, distancing herself from the mundanities associated with her status in order to devote herself to the poor. According to tradition, at the end of her life, Helen undertook a journey to the Holy Land in order to visit the sacred sites and, above all, to find the Holy Cross. This quest was crowned with success, which is why the accepted iconography for this saint shows her holding the true Cross. It would appear that this representation of the saint was not fully known or mastered by historians in the 19th century, since in the inventory of Cardinal Fesch's collection of works, from which our panels come, the latter is described as an allegory of Religion. Our pair of paintings, precisely described in his death inventory of 1839 and then in the catalogue of paintings in his collection in Rome drawn up in 1841, were in fact part of the considerable collection of works belonging to the uncle of Emperor Napoleon I (more than 17,000 objets d'art and 16,000 paintings). We know of another version, probably copies, of these two saints who occupy the verso of the side panels of a triptych in the centre of which is depicted the lamentation of the dead Christ, kept at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts (No.60.4). These two side panels depict scenes from the Old Testament that foreshadow the Passion of Christ. On the left-hand panel, on the reverse of which is Saint Helen, we can see Adam and Eve mourning the death of their son Abel, a scene foreshadowing the Virgin's grief at the death of her Son. The triptych on the right, featuring Saint Veronica, shows Jacob and Rachel mourning the death of their son Joseph. This triptych should be compared with another version of the same composition that is (or was) in the National Art Gallery in Kiev. Only the front of the two side panels are known, of which our panels could be the versos. We are grateful to Robert Wenley for kindly bringing this information to our attention.