The Mocking of Saint Thomas of Canterbury

Master Francke's Mocking of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, painted around 1426 for the Hamburger Kunsthalle, depicts an episode from the life of Thomas Becket. The English saint was especially venerated in Hamburg due to the city's strong trading connections with England through the Hanseatic League Altarpieces featuring rows of standing saints served both liturgical and devotional functions, identifying the church's patron saints and giving worshippers specific objects for personal prayer.

The narrative scene is rendered with Francke's characteristic expressiveness, the tormentors and the saint painted with vivid gestures and strong color against a gold ground that maintains the panel's devotional register.