Saint Dominic Guzmán and Four Saints

Guerau Gener's Saint Dominic Guzmán and Four Saints, dated around 1405 and now in the Museo del Prado, depicts the founder of the Dominican Order surrounded by four companion saints in a standard multi-figure altarpiece panel from the Catalan Gothic tradition. Gener was active in Barcelona at a moment when the Catalan school was producing some of the most accomplished International Gothic painting in Europe. Dominic, who founded the Order of Preachers to combat the Cathar heresy in southern France, was typically shown in the black and white habit of his order, and such panels were commonly commissioned by Dominican churches and confraternities across the Iberian Peninsula.

Gener employs the gold ground and clear, enamel-like colors of the Catalan Gothic tradition. Saint Dominic's white habit provides a strong luminous accent against the gold background. The four companion saints are individualized through their attributes and the varied colors of their vestments. Haloes are finely tooled.