Saint Bernardino Preaching from a Pulpit  1470

Essentially a small painting on parchment, this miniature contains an unusually vivid and naturalistic portrait of the famous Sienese preacher Fra Bernardino degli Albizzeschi (1380–1444), canonized by Pope Nicholas V in 1450. He is dressed in the habit of the Franciscan Order, preaching from a wooden pulpit, as was his custom in Siena and in other cities across Italy. The...