The Translation of the Body of Saint James the Greater at the Palace of Queen Lupa

Martín Bernat's Translation of the Body of Saint James the Greater at the Palace of Queen Lupa depicts a legendary episode from the life of Santiago — the transportation of the apostle's body from Jerusalem to Galicia, his eventual resting place at Santiago de Compostela, one of medieval Europe's greatest pilgrimage sites. The legend of Queen Lupa, who converted to Christianity after wild bulls miraculously became tame to carry James's body, gave painters rich narrative material. Bernat, a Saragossan painter, produced this panel for an Aragonese patron deeply invested in the cult of Saint James, patron of Spain.

The narrative scene shows the procession with the saint's body, with the legendary bulls and the moment of conversion occupying the visual center. Bernat uses Flemish spatial recession and narrative clarity to organize a complex scene with multiple figures and animals across a landscape setting.