Michele Giambono, 'A Saint with a Book', mid-15th century
About the work
Overview
A bearded saint in rich red and blue robes holds an open book. His halo, now rather worn, was burnished gold incised with decorative patterns; the edges and lining of his cloak, his sleeves and his neckline glimmer with touches of gold. His book with its fluttering pages has a dark green binding and gilded fore-edges. We are not sure who he is, though he might well be Saint Mark, who was traditionally shown with a dark beard and curly dark hair.
This panel seems to have come from the upper tier of a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) painted by the Venetian artist Michele Giambono. A number of other figures, both full and half length, against blue backgrounds and apparently from the same altarpiece, survive in collections around the world. The wavy line of darker blue which runs around the figure shows where the gilded frame would have been.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Saint with a Book
- Artist
- Michele Giambono
- Artist dates
- active 1420 - 1462
- Date made
- mid-15th century
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 38.5 × 28.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Mond Bequest, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG3917
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1951Davies, Martin, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
-
1986Davies, Martin, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Library.