UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian
(active mid-14th century in Umbria)

An Evangelist

c. 1350
Fresco transferred to canvas, 80 x 65 cm
National Gallery, London

This fresco fragment comes from the Palazzo Comunale in the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele, Assisi. Since this is a secular place, the frescoes must have come from a chapel within it.

Holding a pen in his left hand, which rest on a book on his desk, and with his right hand holding to his mouth a knife for sharpening the pen, the Evangelist appears to be looking up for inspiration.