Artwork
A Dominican Preaching
A Dominican Preaching is a tempera painting by the Early Renaissance artist Agnolo degli Erri. It dates from 1470 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created circa 1470, this tempera painting on a poplar panel portrays a Dominican friar delivering a sermon from a raised platform.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition aligns with Dominican ideals of preaching and learning, emphasizing the order’s intellectual mission during the late fifteenth century.
The panel depicts a Dominican friar preaching, identified as Saint Thomas Aquinas by the inscribed scroll and the Dominican habit.
Aquinas holds an open book, symbolizing his role as doctor of the Church and author of theological writings. The scroll above him bears a truncated Latin inscription that likely quotes his teaching, reinforcing the image’s didactic purpose.
The composition aligns with Dominican ideals of preaching and learning, emphasizing the order’s intellectual mission during the late fifteenth century.
Technique & Style
A Dominican Preaching is executed in tempera on a poplar panel support, a standard medium for Italian painting of the late 15th century. The work measures 43 cm in height and 34 cm in width. Created in 1470 by Agnolo degli Erri, the painting was originally commissioned for the old church of San Domenico in Modena.
The panel format and tempera technique reflect the artistic conventions of the period prior to the widespread adoption of oil on canvas in the region.
History & Provenance
Commissioned around 1470 for the church of San Domenico in Modena, the work was later dispersed when the church was rebuilt in 1708. It entered the collection of Baron Michele Lazzaroni in Rome by 1925, was identified by Bernard Berenson, and subsequently acquired by Mrs. Felix Warburg in New York before being gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1941.
The painting is housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A Dominican Preaching has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., since 1941, when it was given by Mrs. Felix Warburg of New York. Mrs. Warburg had owned the painting by 1936, and before that it was held by Baron Michele Lazzaroni in Rome by 1925, when Bernard Berenson first noted it in that collection. The work's earlier history traces to a commission around 1470 for the old church of San Domenico in Modena, where it was recorded in a chapel on the rood screen. That church was demolished and rebuilt in 1708, after which its paintings appear to have been dispersed.
Overview
Created circa 1470, this tempera painting on a poplar panel portrays a Dominican friar delivering a sermon from a raised platform. The composition centers on the preacher, whose black hooded habit and white robe contrast with the surrounding figures, while architectural elements such as a stone façade, a tower, and a doorway frame the scene.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Agnolo degli Erri (1440–1482) was an Italian Gothic painter of the Italian Renaissance.
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