Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Barbara, Agatha, and Margaret
Medium
Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions
(a) overall 18 3/4 x 6 in. (47.6 x 15.2 cm), painted surface 18 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (46.4 x 14 cm); (b) overall 18 3/4 x 6 in. (47.6 x 15.2 cm), painted surface 18 3/8 x 5 5/8 in. (46.7 x 14.3 cm); (c) overall 18 3/4 x 6 in. (47.6 x 15.2 cm), painted surface 18 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. (46.7 x 13.7 cm); (d) overall 18 3/4 x 6 in. (47.6 x 15.2 cm), painted surface 18 1/4 x 5 5/8 in. (46.4 x 14.3 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Accession Number
32.100.83a–d
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting set of four panels by Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia, a leading Sienese painter of the late 15th, dates to around 1470. Painted in tempera on wood a shimmering gold ground—a hallmark of Italian Renaissance panel art—the works depict the virgin martyrs Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Barbara Agatha, and Margaret. narrow panel measures about 18¾ x 6 inches, they originally formed part of a larger altarp predella, where such vignettes illustrated sacred narratives below the main scene. The gold ground evokes a divine, otherworldly glow, while tempera's egg-based medium allowed for th...