St Victor of Siena

The Master of the Palazzo Venezia Madonna, an anonymous Roman painter active in the mid-fourteenth century, is named after a celebrated Madonna panel in Rome's Palazzo Venezia. This image of Saint Victor of Siena, now in the Statens Museum for Kunst, represents the relatively rare school of Trecento Roman painting, which operated in the shadow of the papacy's absence during the Avignon period. The saint, a third-century Christian martyr venerated in Siena, is depicted with the standard attributes of his cult.

Tempera on gold-ground panel with the Master's characteristic blend of Roman and Sienese stylistic elements. The figure is rendered with a monumental solidity derived from Roman tradition, combined with decorative refinement in the tooled gold and patterned textiles.