MANTEGNA, Andrea
(b. 1431, Isola di Carturo, d. 1506, Mantova)

San Luca Polyptych (central part)

1453
Tempera on panel
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

St Luke the Evangelist is enthroned behind a scribe's desk in such a way that his physical presence almost threatens to break the boundaries of the old-fashioned panel. Above him is a Pietà, a close-knit group representing Christ in His suffering: His narrow, finely proportioned body, still bound the Gothic concept of physicality, lies between Mary and John, who are tending him.