Saint Bernardino Preaching from a Pulpit
ca. 1470–75
Medium
Tempera on parchment
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 5 5/8 in. (21 x 14.3cm) Inside frame: 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (20 x 14cm)
Classification
Manuscripts and Illuminations
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.2474
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate tempera painting on parchment captures Saint Bernardino of Siena preaching from a raised pulpit, surrounded by attentive figures. Created around 1470–75 by the versatile Sienese artist Francesco di Giorgio Martini, the small illumination measures just over eight inches tall and likely formed part of a devotional manuscript or prayer book. Its compact scale and fine detail invite close viewing, typical of works designed for private contemplation rather than public display. In the late fifteenth century, Saint Bernardino’s fiery sermons drew large crowds across Italy, promoting mo...
About the Artist
Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was a quintessential Renaissance polymath from Siena, Italy, excelling as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and theorist in the Sienese School tradition. Baptized on September 23, 1439, to a poultry dealer named Francesco Maurizio di Giorgio di Martino, his early life remains sparsely documented, with the first record of his artistic activity appear...