San Romolo (c.1423-1424)

Angelico, Fra (c.1395-1455)

San Romolo (Saint Romulus)
c.14231424
Egg tempera on wood, 16 x 15.6 cm
National GalleryLondon

We can piece together who this saint is: his mitre (hat) and crosier (crook) identify him as a bishop, and a faint inscription in white paint to his right reads ‘OL VS’. The inscription on the left probably read ‘ROM’, identifying him when both sides were put together as Romulus.

This seems likely. Romulus was the patron saint of Fiesole, a town near Florence, and this panel probably came from an altarpiece made for the church of San Domenico in Fiesole. It probably decorated one of the altarpiece’s pilasters (the tall piers on either side of the construction). Another panel of exactly the same design, showing the bishop-saint Alexander, was probably its pair, appearing on the opposite pier.

The National Gallery also holds two images from the base of the pilasters and panels from the predella (the lowest part of the altarpiece). (NG)

Pair:

Angelico, Fra (c.1395-1455)
Sant’Alessandro
c.1425
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

 

 

These panel comes from the predella (lowest part) of the altarpiece made for the high altar of San Domenico, Fiesole.

See also:

Predella della Pala di San Domenico (c.1423-1424)