Simon of Trent (nicknamed "Saint Simon").

Altobello Melone's Simon of Trent at the Buonconsiglio Castle in Trent, painted around 1521, depicts a figure whose cult was among the most problematic in the history of the medieval Church — Simon of Trent was an infant whose death in 1475 was falsely attributed to ritual murder by the local Jewish community, leading to their persecution and the creation of a cult condemned by later popes but still maintained by local devotion into the modern period. The painting's presence in the Buonconsiglio Castle — the prince-bishops' residence in Trent — reflects the local ecclesiastical authorities' promotion of the cult during a period when it retained official sanction. Melone was a Cremonese painter of considerable quality whose work combined Lombard and Venetian influences, and his depiction of the 'santo Simonino' reflects the demands of local devotional culture rather than any independent artistic judgment. The Buonconsiglio Castle in Trent is now a major museum of art and history, and this painting occupies a complex place in its collection as an artifact of the false accusation of blood libel that has since been definitively rejected.

The devotional composition is rendered with attention to the expressive and contemplative qualities that served the painting's function as an aid to prayer and meditation.