The crucifixion of St. Andrew St. Andrew and the Devil Virgin Enthroned St. Andrew The Calling of St. Andrew An Intervention of St. Andrew Predella Predella Predella Predella Predella Predella

Master of Roussillon, St. Andrew Altarpiece

1420-30
Created in Catalunya
The Cloisters, New York City

Click on any panel to see an enlargement.

This is the type of altarpiece that developed in the 13th century, with a single portrait in the center flanked by smaller narrative panels (Ekserdjian, 281-83). In this case, the two upper flanking panels have Andrew's call to discipleship on the left and his martyrdom on the right. Below, the left panel illustrates a miracle credited to Andrew when he was alive and the right one has a miracle performed in his name after his death. The left-to-right flow is typical of medieval polyptychs.

In the upper panel two female saints flank the Madonna and Child.

At the onset of the 14th century predellas began to be added below altarpieces. The typical predella uses a sequence of panels with portraits or narrative scenes. If the narrative scenes are all from a single story they will flow chronologically from left to right, with the most famous scene in the central panel even if out of chronology (Ekserdjian, 285-86). In this case, the predella starts on the left with two panels illustrating the miracle of the pregnant woman, followed by one panel each for four other miracles, with the center reserved for an unusual version of the Man of Sorrows. The five miracles are arranged left-to-right in the order they appear in the Golden Legend.

Read more about images of St. Andrew.
Read more about medieval and Renaissance altarpieces.

Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.