Antonio and Bartolomeo Vivarini, Altarpiece of St. Anthony Abbot

1464
Tempera and gold on wood panel, wooden polychrome statue in the center
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome

In the center of the upper register Saints Peter and Paul flank the Man of Sorrows. On the left is St. Jerome (cardinal's garb, book, church maquette); on the right, a bishop whom I have not yet identified.

In the lower register a wood statue of St. Anthony Abbot is flanked by St. Christopher (immediately to the left, Christ Child on shoulders, crossing a stream) and by three young saints dressed as Renaissance gentlemen. The saint on the far left has both an arrow and a sword as attributes; the saint on the far right, a sword and two apples (?).

This work is typical of the grand altarpieces of the 15th century, a polyptych with portraits on gold ground in segments shaped like Gothic windows with elaborate finials.

View this image in full resolution.
Read more about St. Anthony Abbot, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Jerome.
Read more about medieval and Renaissance altarpieces.

Photographed at the museum by Claire Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.