Saint Martin and the Beggar

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Artist: Jaume Serra and Pere Serra (Spanish (Barcelona))
Medium: Tempera on pinewood panel
Size: 49 5/8 × 54 1/4 in. (126.05 × 137.8 cm) (image); 52 11/16 × 57 1/4 × 1 5/8 in. (133.83 × 145.42 × 4.13 cm)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

This newly discovered panel painting was a compartment of a larger Spanish Gothic altarpiece. It was made in the flourishing workshop of the brothers Jaume and Pere Serra in Barcelona. It represents Saint Martin, Bishop of Tours (c. 315–397), who as a young man had served in the Roman army in Gaul. One cold winter night, he came upon a man bare and shivering, and he cut his cloak in half to share it. After this act of charity, Christ appeared to Martin in a dream—wearing the cloak—and said, What thou hast done for that poor man, thou hast done for me.

The painting’s monumental scale, refined coloring, and expressive figures reflect the influence of Italian painting, particularly Sienese painting, of which a number of examples are displayed nearby.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.