About this artwork

The inclusion of saints from later periods in the biblical scene of the three kings paying homage to the new born Christ Child is unusual. They are identified by their attributes as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with the spiked wheel, and Saint Ursula, accompanied by a few of the eleven thousand companions with whom, according to her legend, she was martyred. This panel originally formed the left part of a diptych, the right portion of which, representing The Body of Christ Mourned by Saints, is in the Fondazione Longhi, Florence. Hinged in the middle, the diptych would have been opened and closed like a book, and used as an aid to prayer and meditation. 

Updated December 2020

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Vitale da Bologna (Vitale dAimo de Cavalli)

Vitale da Bologna (Vitale dAimo de Cavalli)

Vitale was one of the earliest artists from Bologna to be identified in contemporary records. He painted large fresco cycles as well as altarpieces and devotional panels. His early works reflect the influence of Giotto and painters associated with Rimini. He followed the convention of equating a figure's size with its importance, but also relied on his own observations for lively gestures and facial expressions.