Image

Spinello Aretino

St. Anthony Abbot Enthroned, ca.1385

Description

Maker

Title

St. Anthony Abbot Enthroned

Year

ca.1385

Medium

Tempera and gold on panel

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

232.4 x 92.1 x 22.2 cm (91 1/2 x 36 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Unsigned

Type

Credit

Gift of Jesse H. Metcalf

Object Number

16.243

About

Saint Anthony Abbot was an early Christian monk who was born in Egypt and spent many years praying in solitude, inspiring others to follow his example of poverty, chastity, and prayer. He is portrayed here in the role of Abbot, or spiritual father, seated on a throne before two kneeling patrons. His costume, consisting of a black robe and a white cape, is typical of that worn by Benedictine monks in 14th-century Italy, suggesting that Saint Anthony served as a model for their contemplative life and that this representation may have been commissioned for one of their churches. His staff serves as both a crutch and a shepherd’s crook, while the small pig at his feet is one of many symbols associated with Saint Anthony’s power to heal ailments as wide ranging as epilepsy and skin diseases.

Unsigned

{"80931":"Previous attribution"}

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

European Galleries

Medieval parishioners were inspired by Saint Anthony’s example of poverty and prayer, and Spinello portrays him here as a spiritual teacher, seated beneath an image of Christ and attended by two patrons. The small black pig at lower right symbolizes his intercession on behalf of the sick, including those suffering from St. Anthony’s fire, a skin disease caused by infected grain.

Monumental in size, the painting may have adorned a structural pier in an oratory (or chapel), such the one in Orsanmichele, an enclosed grain market that became the central guild hall in Florence.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is St. Anthony Abbot Enthroned with the accession number of 16.243. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.