Who painted Saint James Major [right panel]?

Saint James Major [right panel] was painted by Grifo di Tancredi in 1310-01-01.

Where can I see Saint James Major [right panel]?

Saint James Major [right panel] is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Saint James Major [right panel]?

Saint James Major [right panel] is associated with Byzantine icon painting.

Artwork

Saint James Major [right panel]

Grifo di Tancredi , 1310

Saint James Major [right panel] is a tempera painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Grifo di Tancredi. It dates from 1310 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The subject's traditional attributes, associated with pilgrimage and martyrdom, align with common iconographic conventions for Saint James in medieval imagery.

The work titled Saint James Major [right panel] portrays the biblical apostle James, identified by the naming convention of the composition. As a religious painting produced by Grifo di Tancredi in 1310, it belongs to the genre of devotional art and was executed in tempera on panel. The subject's traditional attributes, associated with pilgrimage and martyrdom, align with common iconographic conventions for Saint James in medieval imagery.

The painting's presence in the National Gallery of Art's Andrew W. Mellon collection underscores its historic significance as a 14th-century devotional image intended to facilitate contemplation of the saint's role within Christian worship.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1310 by Grifo di Tancredi, this religious work is a tempera painting on a panel support. The piece functions as the right panel of a larger composition, characterized by the specific application of pigment bound in egg typical of the era. As a panel painting, the medium requires a rigid wooden base, which serves as the foundation for the tempera layers.

The work's classification as a painting within the religious genre underscores its devotional purpose and stylistic alignment with early fourteenth-century Italian art.

History & Provenance

Created in 1310, this tempera panel depicting Saint James Major was executed by the artist Grifo di Tancredi. The work functions as the right panel of a larger religious composition. Its modern ownership history traces to the collection of Andrew W. Mellon, through whom the painting entered the holdings of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in the twentieth century.

No further details regarding its original commission or intermediate provenance prior to the Mellon acquisition, and no specific exhibition history, are documented in the available records.

Overview

Grifo di Tancredi's painting, Saint James Major [right panel], was completed in 1310. This religious work, executed in tempera, is currently part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. It presents a solitary figure of a saint, characterized by a solemn expression and traditional iconography, reflecting the artistic conventions prevalent in early 14th-century Italian painting.