Alvise Vivarini, c. 1445 Venice or Murano - c. 1505, workshop

Alvise Vivarini,
ca. 1445 Venice or Murano - ca. 1505, workshop of

SAINT LOUIS OF TOULOUSE

Tempera on panel.
126 x 39 cm.

Equipped with the insignia of a bishop, a mitre and crozier, Saint Louis of Toulouse makes a gesture of blessing with his gloved left hand. In his other hand he holds the hem of his chasuble while clutching a book and holding his crozier. The Vivarini family of Padua was active in Murano from the 1440s to the beginning of the 16th century. Antonio Vivarini (1415 - 1480), the eldest of the dynasty and his brother-in-law Giovanni d’Alemagna (1411 - 1450) are known to have frescoed parts of the Ovetari Chapel in the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. Antonio painted several panels depicting Saint Louis of Toulouse, two of which are held at the Louvre. Bartolomeo Vivarini (1432 - 1499), Antonio’s brother, joined the family business in 1450 and developed the workshop’s style towards international Gothic. They collaborated on the decoration of the Carthusian monastery of Bologna and the church of San Francesco in Padua.