Saint Gaudioso

Girolamo Romanino painted this Saint Gaudioso for a Brescian church around 1520, depicting the local patron bishop in the standard format of the altarpiece saint—haloed, robed in episcopal vestments, holding the attributes of his saintly office. Gaudioso was the first bishop of Brescia and a figure of local civic and religious identity, and his image in church altarpieces served to affirm the continuity of Brescian Christian tradition from its earliest roots. Romanino's characteristic bold coloring and confident figure construction give the bishop the physical solidity and spiritual authority appropriate to a local patron figure. His ability to combine the formal requirements of the ecclesiastical portrait with his own expressive personal style distinguishes even his devotional commissions from the more conventional workshop production of his contemporaries.

The panel shows Romanino's vigorous Brescian manner with bold brushwork, rich color, and the strong physical characterization that distinguishes his saint figures.