Artworks

This miniature depicts a dramatic scene: Showing Saint Stephen, blood flowing from his head with two men with raised arms behind him just about to be hit the kneeling man. The tormentors are dressed in yellow and blue tunics, their gestures and faces displaying hatred, while the martyr's expression remains focused on his intense prayer. Contrasting with the dramatic events, the scenery is wide and serene, showing a beautiful meandering river with a mill in the background.

In this finely coloured depiction of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the artist confirms his talents in his painting of a glorious background landscape in a very limited space. The style of the illumination can be attributed to Florence, where the illuminator Francesco di Antonio del Chierico (1433-1484), pupil of Fra Angelico, ran a workshop that was favoured by early Renaissance patrons. 

The orientalising details, muscular tormentors and foremost, the intricate landscape with Tuscan medieval houses and a watermill, reveal the hand of someone working in the context of Francesco di Antonio del Chierico. He was a prolific artist known for his creative and innovative work, which demonstrates a remarkable sense for naturalism. His miniatures feature detailed landscapes with winding rivers and sinewy figures. He shared some technical interests with his Florentine contemporary Antonio Pollaiuolo. In particular, both of them fostered the portrayal of human figures in motion, which they learned by observing practical anatomical dissections. 

Del Chierico was known to collaborate on his numerous projects with various illuminators. The present leaf was illuminated in this Florentine context and can possibly be attributed to the Master of the Hamilton Xenophon (who may be the young Attavante degli Attavanti).

Read more about this artwork in our Spotlight.