St Antony of Padua

Carlo Crivelli painted this Saint Anthony of Padua around 1487 as part of one of his elaborate polyptych altarpieces in the Italian Marches. Anthony of Padua, the great Franciscan preacher and wonder-worker, was one of the most popular saints in Italian devotional art. Crivelli's distinctive decorative style transforms the standard devotional subject into a visually arresting image. Carlo Crivelli was a Venetian-trained painter who spent most of his career in the Marche, the central Italian region east of the Apennines, where he executed altarpieces for churches in Ascoli Piceno, Camerino, and other provincial centers.

Tempera and gold on panel with Crivelli's signature ornamental richness and sharp linear definition. The Franciscan saint's habit provides a dark ground for Crivelli's elaborate decorative details.