Detail of the St. Andrew Altarpiece: the woman who worshipped Diana

1420-30
Provenance: Catalunya
The Cloisters, New York City

This is the first of two panels on the left in the predella illustrating an episode in the Golden Legend's life of St. Andrew. In the scene on the left a woman prays to Diana for help with her sister's difficult pregnancy. But the goddess says that she is unable to help people and that the woman should consult St. Andrew. She points to the scene on the right, where the woman is now praying to Andrew.

The goddess is beautifully dressed and coiffed, but her black wings indicate that she is actually a demon.

See the conclusion of the story in the next predella panel.
Read the story in the Golden Legend.
View the entire altarpiece.
Read more about images of St. Andrew.

• Home Page
• Iconography of St. Andrew
• The St. Andrew Altarpiece
• This Detail

Photo by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.