Saint Paul

Niccolò di Buonaccorso, a Sienese painter active in the late fourteenth century known for his exquisitely refined small-scale works, created this Saint Paul around 1380. Niccolò's art epitomizes the late Sienese Gothic style with its emphasis on decorative elegance, precious surface effects, and miniaturist precision. Now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this panel likely formed part of a polyptych predella or lateral panel, placing the apostle Paul in his traditional role as a pillar of the Church alongside other saints.

Painted in egg tempera and gold leaf on panel, this Saint Paul showcases Niccolò di Buonaccorso's characteristically delicate technique with fine brushwork and jewel-like color. The apostle's identifying attributes of sword and book are rendered with miniaturist precision, and the tooled gold ground features the elaborate punch-work patterns that were a hallmark of Sienese workshop practice.