Polyptych of saints

The so-called Polyptych of Saints is a large panel painting by Luca Signorelli, still in the collegiate church of San Medardo in Arcevia, the building it was made for. Its figures are arranged in stacked registers: above, Saint Paul, Saint John the Baptist, God the Father blessing with a book marked Alpha and Omega, and Saints Peter and James the Great; below, Saint Sebastian, Saint Medardus, the enthroned Virgin and Child, Saint Andrew and Saint Roch. The side columns hold further saints that are hard to make out, and at their base two heraldic roundels show a tower on the left and an eagle on the right, pointing to the local and civic setting of the commission. The predella recounts scenes from the childhood of Christ, from the Annunciation to the Massacre of the Innocents. The painter's signature beneath the Virgin's feet records the date of completion. The work is notable for the clarity with which Signorelli organises such a crowded composition.

Painter

Luca Signorelli

Date

1507

Dimensions

393 × 315 cm

Museum

Collegiata di San Medardo

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Saint Sebastian, boy, Mary, woman, Madonna and Child, Christ Child

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