The Exultation of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino
Giovanni di Paolo·1450
Historical Context
The Exultation of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino from 1450 by Giovanni di Paolo at the Metropolitan Museum depicts the Augustinian saint who was particularly venerated in central Italy. Giovanni di Paolo's distinctive visual imagination transforms the devotional subject into a scene of visionary intensity. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays brilliant, jewel-like color, gold grounds, lyrical figure types of Gothic grace, perspectival experiments that create strange compressed spaces, intense narrative invention.
Technical Analysis
The saint's spiritual ecstasy is conveyed through Giovanni di Paolo's characteristic angular drawing and vibrant coloring, the gold ground creating a timeless devotional atmosphere.
