Saint Bartholomew and Saint James the Great, Neri di Bicci

Exhibition Label: "Forms of Thought," Mar-2014, Kris Ercums These two panels once formed part of a large altarpiece indicated by the way the two saints both turn in the same direction. Originally they would have faced a middle image in a now unidentified central panel. The panel depicts two saints. On the left is St. Bartholomew who is known through the Golden Legend, a popular 13th-century compilation of the lives of Christian saints. This medieval text relates the story of St. Bartholomew’s martyrdom in Armenia, where he was skinned alive. Thus, he is identified by the knife with which he was flayed. On the right is St. James, who is not pictured in his customary clothing of a pilgrim, but rather is identified simply by the pilgrim’s staff resting on his shoulder. Label Sep-2009: The two standing saints were once part of a much larger altarpiece. This is indicated by the way they both turn in the same direction; originally they would have faced a now unidentified central panel. St. Bartholomew, on the left, is known not through the Bible, but through the Golden Legend, a popular thirteenth-century compilation of the lives of Christian saints. This medieval text relates the story of St. Bartholomew’s martyrdom in Armenia, where he was skinned alive. His identifying attribute, or symbol, is thus the knife with which he was flayed. On the right, St. James does not appear in his customary pilgrim’s clothing, but is identified simply by the pilgrim’s staff which rests on his shoulder. A more elaborately garbed St. James may be seen in the Spencer’s Medieval Gallery.