Sermon of St. Ambrose Outside: Two standing holy bishops

Bernard van Orley painted this Sermon of Saint Ambrose around 1517 for the Bavarian State Painting Collections. Van Orley's engagement with Italian Renaissance composition, particularly through his study of Raphael's tapestry cartoons, transformed his approach to large-scale narrative painting Bernard van Orley introduced Italian Renaissance elements into Flemish painting, serving as court painter in Brussels and designing celebrated tapestry cycles.

The panel demonstrates van Orley's mature synthesis of Netherlandish detail with Italian compositional grandeur, presenting the sermon scene with the spatial clarity and figure arrangement he absorbed from Raphael's influence.