A Bishop Saint
- Artist: Master of the Fogg Pieta
- Date: c. 1335
- Medium: tempera and goldleaf on panel
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the “A Bishop Saint” by the Master of the Fogg Pieta. Created around 1335, it’s a tempera and goldleaf panel that once belonged to a larger altarpiece’s predella. The whole piece was broken apart, yet these two fragments were reunited, a rare event for dismantled medieval works.
The panel depicting Saint Lawrence retains some of its original ornate moulding, hinting at the decorative richness of the original composition. Lawrence is unmistakable with the gridiron—his martyr’s instrument—depicted over a fire, a common iconographic motif for his legend. The companion panel shows a bishop in full ceremonial garb, but the saint’s identity has yet to be nailed down.
Scholars have dubbed the unknown hand “Master of the Fogg Pieta” after another fragment from the same altarpiece housed at the Fogg Museum in the United States. This artist’s distinct style has surfaced in other works linked to Florence and Assisi, suggesting that he was active in those centers of artistic activity during the early 14th century.
Together, these panels offer a glimpse into a once-unified devotional scene, now a fragmentary conversation between two saints, their stories preserved in gold leaf and tempera on wood.
See it in person
A Bishop Saint hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
