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Allegretto Nuzi and Francescuccio Ghissi, 'Saints Catherine and Bartholomew', about 1350

About the work

Overview

Saint Catherine rests her hand on a wheel studded with metal spikes – the instrument on which she was tortured for her Christian faith, according to legend. Saint Bartholomew holds a knife, the symbol of his martyrdom: he was flayed alive.

The panel probably formed the right-hand side of a triptych (a picture with three parts). The saints look to their right, where the central panel – most likely an image of the Virgin and Child – would have been.

The painting has been connected with the workshop of Allegretto Nuzi on the basis of the decoration of the haloes, though the style of painting and the lettering in the inscriptions resemble works by Francesco Ghissi. Saints Catherine and Bartholomew had churches dedicated to them in Nuzi’s hometown of Fabriano, where he returned after leaving Florence in 1348. In Fabriano he collaborated with Ghissi on several works, and it seems likely that this painting was made there.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Saints Catherine and Bartholomew
Artist dates
active 1354; died 1373/4; active 1345 - 1374
Date made
about 1350
Medium and support
egg tempera on wood
Dimensions
83.2 × 51 cm
Inscription summary
Inscribed
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Herbert Charles Coleman, 1949
Inventory number
NG5930
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
20th-century Replica Frame

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 National Gallery Library.

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