Saint Lawrence Before the Prefect

Artist: Workshop of The Master of the Saint Ursula Legend Cologne (not listed, Active late 15th/early 16th century)

Original Dimensions: 51 1/4" x 36 1/2"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (Around 1505-10) "Saint Lawrence, a deacon in the early Christian church in Rome, was executed in AD 258 by the pagan Roman authorities; this painting tells the story of the events that led to his martyrdom. The Roman prefect Decius ordered Lawrence to hand over the treasures belonging to the Church. Having already distributed these riches among the city’s poor, he gathered them instead, claiming that they were the Church’s greatest treasures. Lawrence, shown here with a large gilded halo and wearing his deacon’s robes, looks towards Decius and gestures towards the people at the bottom of the steps. The group includes a man in ragged robes, perhaps a beggar, and a woman breastfeeding her baby; in the background a disabled man moves towards the group, supported by crutches. This painting is the fourth in a series of probably seven scenes of the life of Saint Lawrence. It is presumed that they were made for the church of Saint Lawrence in Cologne, but this is not certain." - (National Gallery of Art, London)