Pentecost

Bartolomeo di Tommaso da Foligno's Pentecost, painted around 1440 and now at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles gathered in Jerusalem fifty days after Easter — one of the foundational moments of Christian history. The Pentecost was frequently depicted in altarpiece and fresco cycles throughout the fifteenth century, typically showing the twelve Apostles and the Virgin Mary seated in the Upper Room with tongues of flame descending upon their heads.

Tempera on panel with gold ground. The apostles are arranged in a semicircular grouping with the Virgin at center, each figure surmounted by a tongue of gold flame. The hieratic frontal presentation of figures reflects the continued influence of Byzantine-derived conventions in Umbrian painting.