Saint Stephen

Ancient records show that these six panels come from the church of San Silvestro in Mantua. They originally formed part of a larger work, a polyptych or, more probably, given their small dimensions, an altar frontal.
The elegant figures of the saints stand out against a uniform gold ground in keeping with the style of late Gothic painting. Some details however, as the foreshortening of the deacon’s face and the three-dimensional rendering of saint Anthony’s clothes show a partial acquisition of the Renaissance novelties.