BICCI DI LORENZO
(b. 1373, Firenze, d. 1452, Firenze)

St Nicholas of Bari Banishing the Storm (detail)

1433-35
Tempera and gilding on panel
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

The roads and rivers of medieval Europe were crowded with travellers: royal households on the move, government couriers on diplomatic missions, ecclesiastics going to Rome and back, pilgrims on journeys to Jerusalem or Compostela which could take months or even years. This in spite of the fact that maps were rudimentary, carriages uncomfortable and the dangers of robbery real.

A sea-going ship is portrayed in convincing detail in this painting.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.