Polyptyque de Pietralunga

Ottaviano Nelli's Polyptyque de Pietralunga, painted around 1496 and now in the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia, is a late work by one of the most celebrated painters of Gubbio and the Marche-Umbria border region in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Nelli, active from around 1400 to at least 1444, was among the finest practitioners of the International Gothic style in Central Italy — his major works in Gubbio and Foligno showing a refined, elegant figure style influenced by Gentile da Fabriano and the French-influenced Gothic court culture.

Tempera on panel in the multi-compartment polyptych format with gold grounds. The International Gothic elegance of Nelli's figure style — elongated forms, refined drapery with flowing lines, delicate facial types — is characteristic of his mature manner.