Artwork
A Saint (Mark?) Reading
A Saint (Mark?) Reading is a tempera painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Bartolomeo Vivarini. It dates from 1473 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a male figure absorbed in reading, identified through tradition as Saint Mark the Evangelist, though the attribution remains tentative.
The painting portrays a male figure absorbed in reading, identified through tradition as Saint Mark the Evangelist, though the attribution remains tentative. The subject is rendered in a posture of scholarly devotion, his attention fixed on an open text, a motif commonly associated with the Evangelists as authors and transmitters of the Gospels. The depiction of a saint engaged in reading conveys the contemplative life and the authority of scripture, themes central to Venetian devotional painting of the period.
By isolating the figure in close focus, the work emphasizes interior spiritual concentration rather than narrative action, presenting the saint as a model of meditative study. The iconography aligns with the conventional representation of Mark as a learned evangelist, while the modest scale and intimate framing invite the viewer into a shared moment of reflection.
Technique & Style
Executed circa 1473, this religious work by Bartolomeo Vivarini uses tempera applied to a wooden panel support. The painting measures 47.3 cm in height and 37.5 cm in width. As a panel painting from the late fifteenth century, the medium involves pigment bound with egg yolk, a standard technique for the period that allows for precise linear definition and opaque color application.
The composition depicts a male figure, identified potentially as Mark the Evangelist, engaged in the act of reading. While specific details regarding the current surface condition or handling history are not provided in the available records, the work's classification as a tempera on panel places it within the traditional Venetian workshop practices of the era, characterized by rigid support structures and distinct chromatic layers.
History & Provenance
A Saint (Mark?) Reading is a tempera panel by Bartolomeo Vivarini dated to 1473. The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is currently held.
No information is available in the provided sources regarding the original commissioner, the circumstances of its creation, or any earlier owners in the chain of provenance prior to its accession by the museum. The specific inventory or accession number is not disclosed in the referenced documentation, and no exhibition history is recorded.
Overview
Bartolomeo Vivarini, an Italian painter active in the latter half of the 15th century, created A Saint (Mark?) Reading in 1473. This tempera painting from the Venetian Renaissance tradition depicts a male figure, possibly Saint Mark the Evangelist, engrossed in a book. The work is currently housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo Vivarini (c. 1432 – c. 1499) was an Italian Renaissance painter, known to have worked from 1450 to 1499.
