Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine is an oil painting on silk by Pinturicchio, made in the early sixteenth century as a gonfalon, a processional banner for the flagellant confraternity of Sant'Agostino in Perugia. When the brotherhood was suppressed, the work went to the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in the same city. The saint appears in rich episcopal robes, with jewelled borders, a mitre and rings. He holds a bishop's crook and an open book carrying an Italian version of one of his own sayings: «Figlioli siate intente amare iddio che avete inante lo exemplio mio», roughly 'Little children, be intent on loving God as you have seen in my example'. Two members of the confraternity, marked with its emblems, stand on either side. After his time at the court of Pope Alexander VI in Rome, the painter developed a taste for Hispano-Moorish motifs, which show up in the decoration. The gold background, built from textile-like patterns, turns the panel into a painted hanging that mimics a wall tapestry, a trompe-l'œil effect.

Painter

Pinturicchio

Date

1500

Dimensions

115 × 83 cm

Museum

National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Augustine of Hippo

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