testate di cataletto, san paolo

The testate di cataletto depicting San Paolo (Saint Paul) by Domenico Beccafumi, dated 1511 and now at the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena, is the companion panel to the San Galgano bier end, completing a set of decorated funeral bier supports for a Sienese religious confraternity. Saint Paul, apostle to the Gentiles and author of key New Testament epistles, appears with his standard attributes of sword and book — the sword referring to his martyrdom by beheading, the book to his role as theological writer. Beccafumi's inclusion in this commission indicates that even at the start of his career his talent was recognized in Sienese institutional circles.

The Paul panel shows slightly more spatial confidence than the San Galgano end, with the figure occupying a more clearly defined pictorial space. Beccafumi's treatment of the sword attribute demonstrates his early attention to light on metallic surfaces, a concern that would develop into one of the hallmarks of his mature style. The figure's drapery is handled with the careful pleating and fold description of the Sienese academic tradition.