The Embarkation of James the Greater’s Body at Jaffa

Martín Bernat, who was one of the principal painters working in Zaragoza in the late fifteenth century, frequently collaborating with Miguel Ximénez, created this work around 1485, now in Madrid's Museo del Prado. This work reflects the artistic culture of Zaragoza during the Early Renaissance, when painters were forging new approaches to representation through the study of perspective, anatomy, and natural light.

Characteristic Iberian altarpiece technique is evident in the rich gilding, vivid tempera colors, and the iconic frontality of the figures, reflecting the distinctive devotional intensity of Spanish religious painting.