Saints Matthias and Thomas

Bartolomeo Bulgarini, one of the most important Sienese painters of the mid-fourteenth century, created this panel of Saints Matthias and Thomas around 1350. Bulgarini was a key figure in maintaining the refined Sienese tradition of Duccio, Simone Martini, and Pietro Lorenzetti during the difficult decades following the Black Death. Now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this double-saint panel likely formed part of a larger polyptych and demonstrates the continued sophistication of Sienese painting at mid-century.

Executed in egg tempera and gold leaf on panel, this paired apostle panel displays Bulgarini's refined Sienese technique with its emphasis on elegant draughtsmanship and subtle color harmonies. The two saints are differentiated through their attributes and physiognomies, standing beneath Gothic canopies against an elaborately tooled gold ground with characteristic Sienese punch-work patterns.