Saint Augustine

The pilgrimage church of Saint Leonhard in Lavanttal (Austria) was built in the early decades of the fourteenth century, and about 140 medieval stained-glass panels can still be found in the church today. In the 1920s and 1930s, the church sold several panels to raise funds for necessary repairs. The Met acquired seventeen panels from the church in the 1960s. They are now installed in three lancet windows in the Gothic Chapel at The Met Cloisters. The panels are notable for their legible iconography and vibrant hues. The heavy lines of the figures contrast with the intricate keyhole medallions and colorful floral backgrounds. The saints featured throughout the program stand out against their decorative frames.

The panels were likely created by a travelling workshop based in the nearby town of Judenburg. The various hands and styles of the different craftspeople can be discerned in the subtle variations on common themes. The Judenburg workshop relied on a limited set of cartoons, or full-scale reusable drawings that outlined poses, facial features, and shading, to create their standard repertoire of figures. This is why so many of the saints appear visually similar; they were made using a shared set of designs.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) was among the most influential of the Church Fathers, or early Christian theologians. He lived a solitary monastic life until he became Bishop of Hippo, as is represented by his mitre (ceremonial headdress) and crozier (hooked staff). The book in his left hand stands in for his many theological writings, including Confessions, an early autobiographical account of his life and conversion, and The City of God, a philosophical text that became the cornerstone of subsequent Christian writings.