Saint Alban of Mainz
c. 1500/1525
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 155.6 x 51.7 cm (61 1/4 x 20 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CNE-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Joanne Freedman
Accession Number
1972.73.1
Art Historical Context
This striking panel painting, created by an anonymous artist from the Tyrol region of the Alps around 1500–1525, depicts Saint Alban of Mainz, a revered early Christian martyr. Standing tall and narrow at over five feet high, the work was likely once part of a larger altarpiece, its elongated format typical of side wings designed to flank a central scene in a church setting. Rendered in oil on wood panel—a medium prized in Northern Europe for its rich color and capacity for intricate detail—the painting reflects the devotional art traditions of the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods in ...