The Death of St Ephraim and other Scenes from the Lives of the Hermits
About this artwork
A winding river and colourful architecture punctuate the rocky wilderness which represents the desert around Thebes in Egypt. Included among the population of wild animals and hermits are recognisable figures such as St Jerome, kneeling before a crucifix at the bottom left, and St Francis, receiving the stigmata (Christ's wounds) at the top, centre right. The figures are small in relation to their setting and the proportions of this fifteenth-century panel suggest that it may have been painted as part of a cassone (chest) or other piece of furniture. This might also account for the appearance of secular figures (who possibly form part of a hunting party) in the composition.
Updated before 2020
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artists:
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title:The Death of St Ephraim and other Scenes from the Lives of the Hermits
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date created:About 1480 - 1500
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materials:Tempera on panel
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measurements:49.50 x 163.50 cm; Framed: 75.70 x 191.00 x 10.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Private Collection on long term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland, 1979
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accession number:NGL 023.79
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gallery:
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subject:
Tuscan School
Tuscan School
If the identity of an artist who made a painting is not known, the work is often described as belonging to a national or regional school. This is because it appears to share stylistic characteristics with paintings by artists from that nation or region. So a painting described as being of the 'Tuscan school' is by an artist working in the Italian province of Tuscany, who was possibly associated with one of the influential Florentine workshops.
