Bartolomeo Vivarini “Polyptych of Saint Christopher, Madonna with the Infant Jesus, Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardino of Siena, Saint Sebastian, Saint Christopher and Saint Roch” Ambrosiana Gallery Pinacoteca Library in Milan in Italy

Bartolomeo Vivarini (1432-1499) “Polyptych of Saint Christopher”

Painting - Tempera on wood (165 x 149cm) 1486

Bartolomeo Vivarini, Polyptych of Saint Christopher, Madonna with the Infant Jesus, Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardino of Siena, Saint Sebastian, Saint Christopher and Saint Roch, Ambrosiana Gallery Pinacoteca Library in Milan in Italy

Polyptych St Christopher The “Polyptych of Saint Christopher” by Bartolomeo Vivarini comprises six wooden panels painted with tempera.

The upper left panel depicts Saint Bernard wearing the frieze dress of the monks, holding a bishop's crozier and making the gesture of blessing, looking at the Madonna and Child; his facial features and frowned eyebrows reveal a mixture of concentration and authority.

To the right of Saint Bernard, the panel in the centre of the polyptych represents the Madonna with the Infant Jesus sitting on a cushion.

They are both crowned, and Jesus, with a gentle look, has his hand placed on his mother's hand, who seems sad, almost absent, as if she already foresaw the future suffering of her son.

The upper right panel represents Saint Bernardino of Siena, who holds a coat of arms with the letters IHS referring to the Latin formula “Iesus Hominum Salvator”; like Saint Bernard, he wears the habit of the brothers of his order.

Polyptych St Christopher Saint Bernard appears as a mature man with a beard who still has hair, while Saint Bernardin's features are those of a much older, bald man with traces of tonsure on the back of his haloed head.

The lower left panel of the polyptych represents Saint Sebastian tied to a tree trunk in front of a rocky landscape.

He looks up and prays to the sky, calmly bearing the pain of his body pierced by six arrows.

He is the youngest of the saints represented; his long and abundant curly hair and his beardless features attest to his youth.

The panel at the bottom and centre of the polyptych represents Saint Christopher just below the Madonna and Child.

He is in front of a mountainous landscape where a river runs; he is a solid man who walks barefoot in the water and who carries the Child Jesus on his shoulder while leaning on a palm branch to cross this waterway.

Polyptych St Christopher With one hand, Christ grabs Saint Christopher's hair to hold himself on the saint's shoulder, and with the other, he holds a cruciferous orb surmounted by a flame representing his temporal and spiritual domination over the world.

They are both crowned.

The last character in the polyptych, at the bottom and on the right, is Saint Roch, who lifts a section of his coat to show the bubon of the plague on his naked thigh.

He wears a hat and a satchel and walks holding his pilgrim staff.

All the holy characters in the polyptych have a golden halo, while the Madonna and Child have simple, transparent halos.

Polyptych St Christopher