Saint Stephen

Giovanni del Biondo, one of the most prolific painters in Florence during the second half of the fourteenth century, depicted Saint Stephen as the protomartyr holding his identifying attribute of stones. Active primarily from the 1360s through the 1390s, Giovanni del Biondo produced numerous altarpieces for Florentine churches and confraternities, working in a conservative Giottesque style. His depictions of individual saints were frequently incorporated into larger polyptych structures.

Rendered in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, the figure of Saint Stephen displays Giovanni del Biondo's typically firm, somewhat rigid draftsmanship with strong outlines and flat decorative patterning. The rich vermilion and blue pigments of the dalmatic are applied with careful layered modeling.