Saint Luke painting the Virgin
Historical Context
The Master of the Holy Blood painted this Saint Luke Painting the Virgin around 1510 for the Fogg Museum. The legend of Saint Luke as the first Christian artist who painted the Virgin's portrait was a subject of particular significance for painters' guilds, who took Luke as their patron saint. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.
Technical Analysis
The panel presents the artist-saint at work with careful attention to the painter's tools and studio setting, rendered in the refined Bruges manner with luminous surface quality.
