Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]
A man with deeply tanned skin and a woman with pale skin stand under pointed arches with a woman wearing blue in the triangular gable above, all against a gold background and set within a carved, gold frame in this vertical painting. This is the right wing of a three-panel triptych. The man on the left is mostly bald but has a fringe of tawny brown hair, a forked beard, and he wears a white robe. His body is angled slightly to our left. He looks down at a book held open in both hands. The cover is decorated with gold against a scarlet-red cover. The woman on the right faces us, looking at us with hazel eyes under thin brows. She wears a gold crown on her blond hair, which is gathered at the back of her neck. A pale pink mantle trimmed in gold wraps around her bronze and off-white brocaded gown which is visible at the neckline and hem. The edge of the mantle is turned back to reveal its goldenrod-yellow lining. She holds a green frond up in her right hand, to our left, and in the other hand holds a book with a forest-green cover embellished with gold. A wood wheel studded with short black spikes encircles her feet. Both saints have halos carved into the gold background, and they stand on a floor patterned with gold and burgundy red. The outer columns of the panel have pairs of twisted shafts that support the gable, which has a circle carved into its center. In that roundel is a woman and a dove inside a four-lobed quatrefoil. Shown from the waist up, the woman faces our left almost in profile. She has blond hair under the hood of her blue robe, and wears a rose-pink dress. Her hands are crossed over her chest, and she looks at a white dove flying next to her. Above the roundel, a face is surrounded by blood-red wings, set within a shape that has three lobes alternating with three points. Barely discernable, the panel is inscribed across the bottom below the saints, “S. BERNARDUS DOCTOR; S. K TERINA VIRGO.”
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- tempera on poplar panel
- Dimensions
- overall: 194.6 × 80 cm (76 5/8 × 31 1/2 in.)
- Department
- CIS-R
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Saints Both · 99%
The title identifies Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and the image shows two haloed saints with books and identifying attributes.
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Deities and Holy Figures Both · 99%
The title identifies the Virgin of the Annunciation, and the upper quatrefoil visibly contains the Virgin and a white dove.
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Bible Story Both · 98%
The catalog identifies the Annunciation, a Christian subject, and the image shows halos, saints, the Virgin, and devotional attributes.
Styles and Movements
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Medieval Art Both · 95%
The date, frontal elongated figures, gold ground, halos, pointed arches, and devotional format place the work within a medieval artistic context.
Visual Qualities
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Highly Ornamented Visual · 98%
The panel and frame are densely covered with gilded ornament, patterned borders, carved halos, architectural decoration, and elaborate textiles.
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Balance Visual · 96%
The two architectural bays, centered upper quatrefoil, paired columns, and vertical arrangement create a strongly balanced composition.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting.
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Tempera Metadata · 99%
The catalog specifies tempera on poplar panel.
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Gold Leaf and Gilding Visual · 93%
The frame, ground, halos, and architectural ornament visibly have gilded surfaces or gold leaf-like finishes.
Time Periods
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1000 - 1400 CE Art Metadata · 98%
The catalog dates the work to shortly before 1387, placing it within the 1000–1400 CE period.
Materials
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Wood Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies the support as poplar panel, a type of wood.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Christian Art and Architecture Both · 99%
The work presents explicitly Christian figures and imagery, including saints, the Virgin, halos, and the Annunciation.
Source & rights
Agnolo Gaddi. Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.