Saint Lawrence

This Saint Lawrence by the Master of the Fogg Pieta, dated around 1335, depicts the early Christian deacon who was martyred by being roasted on a gridiron, making him one of the most popular saints in medieval Italy. The anonymous master, named after a Pieta now at Harvard's Fogg Museum, worked in a refined Tuscan style that blended Florentine and Sienese influences. The panel likely formed part of a polyptych altarpiece, where individual saint panels flanked a central devotional image.

Executed in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, Saint Lawrence is shown with his traditional attributes — the deacon's dalmatic vestment and the gridiron of his martyrdom. The master's refined technique is evident in the delicate facial features and carefully rendered textile patterns of the liturgical garment.