Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d'Alemagna, 'Saints Peter and Jerome', about 1440-6

Two saints – Peter and Jerome – stand on an extravagantly carved stone pedestal. They once formed the left wing of a triptych (an altarpiece in three parts) painted by Antonio Vivarini and his brother-in-law Giovanni d‘Alemagna probably in the mid-1440s. The other wing is Saints Francis and Mark.

The saints’ names have been painted as if carved into the pedestal and they hold their attributes – the symbols traditionally associated with them. At the front is Peter, the first pope and one of the founders of the Catholic Church, grasping a pair of large gilded keys, which have been moulded out of pastiglia and gilded. These are the keys to the kingdom of heaven, which Christ gave Peter as a symbol of his spiritual power. In the same hand he grasps a fantastically bound book, representing the Gospels.

Behind him is Saint Jerome, one of the Fathers of the Church. Jerome was secretary to Pope Damasus I, so is often shown with the red robes and hat of a cardinal – as in Crivelli’s Saint Jerome – although the office did not exist in his lifetime. He holds a bound book of the Bible, which he had translated into Latin; if you look closely you can see that rays of light from the book shine onto the church he holds, to show how Jerome’s works illuminated religious understanding. To show off his skill at depicting objects at extreme angles, the artist has rotated it so we see the gilded edges and fluttering pages, a device also used by Crivelli (look at Saint Peter, for example).

Antonio and Giovanni collaborated on many paintings in a family workshop and it’s very difficult to work out precisely which painter did which bit. Saint Peter’s yellow robe has been hatched with black to simulate gold, a skill particular to the Vivarini workshop, and perhaps associated with Giovanni as it largely disappeared after his death. The bright colours of the saints' robes, the decorative details of their clothes and setting, and the three-dimensional gilding all contribute to the rich effect of this painting – which would doubtless have been enhanced by the original gilded frame.