Stories from the Life of St Stephen (1511-20)
by Vittore CARPACCIO

In the decade during which Titian replaced Giovanni Bellini as the major protagonist of the Renaissance in Venice, Vittore Carpaccio carried out his last important commission, apparently with little help from assistants. This makes the cycle the best text through which to study Carpaccio's development in his last period. Once again, it was the decoration commissioned by a minor Scuola. The Confraternity of St Stephen (Scuola dei Lanieri a Santo Stefano), which in 1476 had enlarged its headquarters right near the church consecrated to the saint, on a piece of land belonging to the Augustinians, called on Carpaccio, who was obviously considered the specialist in pictorial cycles of this kind; he was commissioned five canvases illustrating episodes from the life of their patron saint.

The series was broken up in 1806, when the religious houses were suppressed, and has been scattered between various museums. The St Stephen Being Consecrated Deacon by St Peter is in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin; the Sermon of St Stephen in the Louvre, Paris; the Disputation of St Stephen in the Brera, Milan; the Stoning of St Stephen in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. The fifth painting, the Trial of St Stephen is lost, but it is known through a copy and some drawings.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
St Stephen is Consecrated Deacon
1511
Tempera on canvas, 148 x 231 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

1092*680
True Color
168 Kb



St Stephen is Consecrated Deacon (detail)
-
Tempera on canvas
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

829*873
True Color
137 Kb



The Sermon of St Stephen
1514
Tempera on canvas, 152 x 195 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

1291*1000
True Color
192 Kb



Disputation of St Stephen
1514
Tempera on canvas, 147 x 172 cm
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

921*790
True Color
147 Kb



Disputation of St Stephen (detail)
1514
Tempera on canvas
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

614*1167
True Color
129 Kb



Disputation of St Stephen (detail)
1514
Tempera on canvas
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

900*1333
True Color
192 Kb



The Stoning of St Stephen
1520
Tempera on canvas, 142 x 170 cm
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

928*807
True Color
147 Kb




Summary of paintings by Vittore Carpaccio
| Paintings until 1509 | Paintings from 1510 |
Cycles
| St Ursula | San Giorgio degli Schiavoni | St Stephen |