Saint Stephen (panel from the right pilaster of an altarpiece)

This panel of Saint Stephen by Andrea di Bartolo, a prominent Sienese painter active in the late fourteenth century, formed part of the right pilaster of a larger altarpiece. Andrea, the son of Bartolo di Fredi, continued the conservative Sienese tradition of refined panel painting, producing numerous altarpieces for churches and confraternities. The panel, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, would have been one of several standing saints flanking a central devotional image.

Tempera and gold on panel. Andrea di Bartolo employs the characteristic Sienese palette of rich reds and blues against a tooled gold ground, with careful attention to the saint's dalmatic vestments identifying him as a deacon.