Transition of St. Martha

The stained glass window, executed by a Lombard master glass craftsman perhaps following a drawing supplied by Bernardino De Donati, depicts the death and transition of St. Martha whose attributes--the urn and aspersorium--are in the foreground. The early 16th century window is principally intact, though some areas of the background and perhaps the hands of the kneeling figure in the foreground and the face of the kneeling figure in the background were replaced. Scholars believe that the window probably came from the church of San Vincenzo in the city of Gera Lario from an altar belonging to the Confraternity of the Disciplinati of St. Martha. Probably purchased by the brothers Fausto and Giuseppe at the end of the 19th century (perhaps in part because their father, a renowned artist of the day, might have been involved in the restoration of the panel, the window is still displayed--as are all other objects in the museum--in its original place, thus contributing to the authentic "time capsule" ambiance.