Saint Andrew
1491
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
Overall, assembled (confirmed): H. 47 1/8 x W. 31 3/4 x D. 6 3/4 in., 439lb. (119.7 x 80.6 x 17.1 cm, 199.1291kg); Weight, central panel: 271lb. (122.9248kg); Weight, each pilaster: 84 lb. (38.1022kg)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
Italian, Rome
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.1736a–c
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1491 by the renowned Italian sculptor Andrea Bregno, this marble relief of Saint Andrew exemplifies the refined artistry of late fifteenth-century Rome. Bregno, active in the papal city during the height of the Renaissance, specialized in architectural sculpture and church furnishings. The work’s assembled form—a central panel flanked by pilasters—suggests it once formed part of an altarpiece or tabernacle, where the saint’s dignified figure would have invited quiet devotion. Carved from luminous marble, the sculpture reflects the period’s renewed interest in classical proportion a...