WorkThis 'jamb' supports the left side of the door on the northern transept, or left-hand wing of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo.
Santa Maria Maggiore is unusual in that it has no central doorway; instead, the main entrances are to the side, under each transept. This is because the central wall of the church was once part of the Bishop's palace. Both doors are decorated by elaborate porches, which were individually carved by Giovanni da Campione during the 1350s and 60s.
The jamb is carved in two colours of marble. The red marble comes from Verona, to the east of Bergamo. The white marble comes from Carrara, to the south. Each column is carved differently with barley twists, figures of knights, scrolling leaves and parades of animals.
Randal was painting in Italy under commission from Ruskin, who had asked him to paint records of architecture in 'rather out of the way bits that are perishing.' (
Works, 30, p. lxxi). He had spent the winter in Lecco near Lake Como, and moved on to Bergamo, situated to the east of Milan in the Spring.
ArtistFrank Randal (1852-1917) was born in Paddington, London, to Charles Hayter Randal and Frances (née Arnold). Little is known of Randal, but Ruskin commissioned more works from him than any other artist in the Ruskin Collection. He caught the attention of Ruskin in 1881, who started to commission work from him. This continued until 1887. Over this time, he produced at least 137 drawings and watercolours for the Guild.