The Blessed Andrea Gallerani (died 1251)
This panel along with two others in the Lehman Collection (1975.1.56 and 1975.1.33) and three in the Department of European Paintings (1997.117.2; 1997.117.3, 32.100.95) belonged to an altarpiece, which may have been commissioned by the guild of the Pizzicaiuoli (purveyors of dry goods) in 1447 for their new chapel in the church of the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. The present panel and that portraying another standing figure (The Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni; 1975.1.56), formed pilasters of the altarpiece. The Blessed Andrea Gallerani, who died in 1251, is portrayed wearing a letter M surmounted by a cross, the emblem of the Confraternity of the Misericordia. The additional panel in the Lehman Collection and the three in European Paintings comprise a narrative cycle depicting scenes from the life of Catherine of Siena, a fourteenth-century Dominican saint, who was a minister to the poor as well as a mystic. The panels, based on a biography of Saint Catherine written in 1385 by her confessor Raymond of Capua, represent the first complete pictorial cycle of her life. This series may have been produced following Saint Catherine’s canonization in 1461 and added as a predella (base) to a preexisting altarpiece.
Additional panels that are conjecturally associated with the Pizzicaiuoli altarpiece are: the Purification of the Virgin (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), Saint Catherine Invested with the Dominican Habit (Cleveland Museum of Art), Saint Catherine and the Beggar (Cleveland Museum of Art), Saint Catherine Dictating Her Dialogues to Raymond of Capua (Detroit Institute of Arts), Saint Catherine before a Pope (Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation), Death of Saint Catherine (private collection), Crucifixion (Rijksmuseum Het Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, on deposit at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), and pilaster figures representing Saint Galganus and Blessed Peter of Siena(?) (both Aartbischoppilijk Museum, Utrecht).
Additional panels that are conjecturally associated with the Pizzicaiuoli altarpiece are: the Purification of the Virgin (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena), Saint Catherine Invested with the Dominican Habit (Cleveland Museum of Art), Saint Catherine and the Beggar (Cleveland Museum of Art), Saint Catherine Dictating Her Dialogues to Raymond of Capua (Detroit Institute of Arts), Saint Catherine before a Pope (Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation), Death of Saint Catherine (private collection), Crucifixion (Rijksmuseum Het Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, on deposit at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), and pilaster figures representing Saint Galganus and Blessed Peter of Siena(?) (both Aartbischoppilijk Museum, Utrecht).
Artwork Details
- Title: The Blessed Andrea Gallerani (died 1251)
- Artist: Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) (Italian, Siena 1398–1482 Siena)
- Date: 1447–65
- Medium: Tempera on wood, gold ground
- Dimensions: Overall, with engaged frame: 20 1/4 in. × 7 in. (51.4 × 17.8 cm)
Painted surface: 19 × 4 7/8 in. (48.3 × 12.4 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.1.55
- Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Sienese
14th century
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
1465–70
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
ca. 1447–65
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
1447–65
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
ca. 1450
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.