Saint Lawrence

Niccolo di Buonaccorso was a Sienese painter active in the second half of the fourteenth century, known for delicate, small-scale devotional panels that demonstrate the refined craftsmanship of Sienese miniaturist painting. This Saint Lawrence, now in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, likely formed part of a polyptych altarpiece. Lawrence, the early Christian deacon martyred on a gridiron, was one of the most popular saints in medieval art, his cult spread throughout Europe by the widespread distribution of his relics.

Egg tempera on gold-ground panel, executed with the miniaturist precision characteristic of Niccolo di Buonaccorso's refined Sienese style. The deacon saint is depicted with his attribute of the gridiron, rendered with delicate brushwork, subtle color harmonies, and meticulous decorative detail in the gilded background.