''St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels'' is a painting attributed to the Italian
Renaissance artist
Andrea Mantegna and his assistants, dated to 1460 and housed in the
Pinacoteca di Brera of
Milan.
The painting was located in the funerary chapel of marquis
Ludovico III Gonzaga
Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua, also spelled Lodovico (also Ludovico II; 5 June 1412 – 12 June 1478) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478.
Biography
Ludovico was the son of Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga ...
, dedicated to St. Bernardino and situated in church of
San Francesco in
Mantua. It was acquired by the Milanese gallery in 1811.
Description
The painting portrays the saint in a central position. He holds the
IHS monogram (referring to the name of Jesus) on a gold plate, which he usually displayed at the end of his sermons.
[''The Jesus Prayer'' by Lev Gillet 1987 page 112] He stands on a platform covered with an oriental carpet. At his sides are two angels, and, above the
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
over his head, are four sitting or kneeling
cherubims.
The architrave carries the inscription "Huius lingua salus hominum", meaning "His word is the safety of men". The arch is decorated with festoons with flowers and fruit, a typical element of Mantegna's paintings in
Padua, influenced by
Francesco Squarcione
Francesco Squarcione (''c.'' 1395 – after 1468) was an Italian artist from Padua. His pupils included Andrea Mantegna (with whom he had many legal battles), Cosimo Tura and Carlo Crivelli. There are only two works signed by him: the ' ...
. The basement has a
cartouche with the date 1460 (according to others, 1468 or 1469).
It is currently disputed if the painting was executed by Mantegna and his assistants, or by the latter alone.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels
1460 paintings
Paintings by Andrea Mantegna
Paintings in the collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera
Religious paintings
Angels in art