St. Stephen

Another depiction of St. Stephen by Andrea di Bartolo, this panel from around 1397, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, reflects the prolific output of one of late fourteenth-century Siena's busiest workshops. Andrea's atelier produced altarpieces and individual devotional panels for clients throughout Tuscany and beyond, maintaining the elegant courtly aesthetic that remained the hallmark of the Sienese school even as Florence moved toward more monumental and naturalistic forms.

Tempera and gold on panel. The painting shows Andrea's characteristic precision in rendering facial features and textile patterns, with the saint depicted against a tooled gold background using the refined linear style inherited from his father Bartolo di Fredi.