MEDIEVAL IMAGES OF SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - PA112.jpg


Category	Painting
Origin: artist/workshop	Raffaellino del Garbo (c 1466-1524)
Date	16C/1
Reference No
Size	285x283,5
Provenance	Florence, S. Spirito Church, chapel of St Laurence in left transept
Present Location	Florence, S. Spirito Church
Bibliography	Paffrath 1990, 50; Berenson 1932, 477; Florence 1990, 36, 52, & 152
	Van Marle 1923-38, 12:432; Paatz 1940-54, 5:145; Berenson 1963, 186; Aurenhammer 1959-67, 335
Illustration From	Florence 1990, 153
Other illustrations	Paffrath 1990, ill 11; Van Marle 1923-38, 12: ill 284
	Huempfner 1927, 1:35
Country	Italy

Description:
An altarpiece in the Florentine church of S. Spirito painted by Raffaellino del Garbo in 1505 in the form of a 'Sacra Conversazione'. The enthroned Virgin is flanked by four seated saints: on the left St Laurence with the standard attribute of a grill, St John the Evangelist holding an open book with the opening words of his gospel clearly readable: IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM... ; on the right St Stephen holding the martyr's palms and with a stone balanced on his head referring to his martyrdom by stoning, and St Bernard with an open book on his lap and holding on a chain a small demon, unusually with a human face with a beard and horns. Bernard's book has the text: PER TE ACCESSUM HABEAMUS AD FILIUM, O BENEDICTA INVENTRIX from the Second Sermon for Advent (SBOp 4:54). Bernard is gazing up at Laurence, perhaps alluding to the vision on his sickbed of the Virgin accompanied by St Laurence and St Benedict which William of St Thierry recorded in the Vita Prima. The predella is adorned with a scene from the life of each of the saints, including the Vision of Bernard.

Description:

An altarpiece in the Florentine church of S. Spirito painted by Raffaellino del Garbo in 1505 in the form of a 'Sacra Conversazione'. The enthroned Virgin is flanked by four seated saints: on the left St Laurence with the standard attribute of a grill, St John the Evangelist holding an open book with the opening words of his gospel clearly readable: IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM... ; on the right St Stephen holding the martyr's palms and with a stone balanced on his head referring to his martyrdom by stoning, and St Bernard with an open book on his lap and holding on a chain a small demon, unusually with a human face with a beard and horns. Bernard's book has the text: PER TE ACCESSUM HABEAMUS AD FILIUM, O BENEDICTA INVENTRIX from the Second Sermon for Advent (SBOp 4:54). Bernard is gazing up at Laurence, perhaps alluding to the vision on his sickbed of the Virgin accompanied by St Laurence and St Benedict which William of St Thierry recorded in the Vita Prima. The predella is adorned with a scene from the life of each of the saints, including the Vision of Bernard.