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Saint Justina of Padua

1490s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 602

A fragment from an altarpiece, this picture shows the early Christian martyr Justina in the guise of an elegantly dressed contemporary of the artist, thereby overlapping conventions of devotional images and portraiture. By the 1490s it was not uncommon for a wealthy person to be depicted as their patron saint. While the palm branch and the sword piercing this figure’s breast are Saint Justina’s traditional attributes, she is also a carefully crafted ideal of aristocratic beauty, including her high forehead, a standard of attractiveness so popular that it was common for women to alter their hairlines. Guided by the influence of Giovanni Bellini, Montagna became the principal painter in Vicenza.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint Justina of Padua
  • Artist: Bartolomeo Montagna (Bartolomeo Cincani) (Italian, Vicentine, before 1459–1523)
  • Date: 1490s
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: Overall, with added strips, 19 1/2 x 15 1/8 in. (49.5 x 38.4 cm); painted surface 19 1/8 x 14 3/4 in. (48.6 x 37.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.606
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Madonna Adoring the Child, Bartolomeo Montagna (Bartolomeo Cincani) Italian, Oil(?) on wood
Madonna Adoring the Child
Bartolomeo Montagna (Bartolomeo Cincani)
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo) Italian, Oil on wood
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo)
ca. 1528
Portrait of a Young Man, Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio) Italian, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Young Man
Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)
ca. 1470
Portrait of a Young Man, Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano) Italian, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Young Man
Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano)
1530s
Christ Crowned with Thorns, Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio) Italian, Oil, possibly over tempera, on wood
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio)

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