# St Bernardino da Siena [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BELLINI, Jacopo]() - Date: 1401-1450 - Technique: Tempera on wood, 30 x 21 cm ## Commentary Jacopo Bellini had more than one opportunity to observe St Bernardino \(1380-1444\) and hear him preach. His portrait gives us a close-up view of the saint who stands before a velvet cloth decorated with thistle leaves and Christ's monogram. The saint's mouth is open, displaying three small teeth, and his eyes are directed downward toward a crucifix. The saint is shown as a living, speaking presence, perhaps the first such portrait of the Renaissance. The Sienese preacher St Bernardino, a prominent figure in the reform branch of the Franciscan order known as the Observants, was widely portrayed. In addition to a death mask, there are medals, <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/v/vivarini/antonio/saints.html'\)" href="/html/v/vivarini/antonio/saints.html">standing</a> and <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/l/lorentin/saints2.html'\)" href="/html/l/lorentin/saints2.html">bust-length</a> painted depictions, terracotta busts and statues, and engravings. Following his canonization in 1450, he was shown <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/s/sano/preachin.html'\)" href="/html/s/sano/preachin.html">repeatedly</a> in <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/n/nerocci/madonna1.html'\)" href="/html/n/nerocci/madonna1.html">altarpieces.</a> ## Related artworks - [Annunciation]() - [Annunciation]() - [Birth of the Virgin]() - [Crucifixion]() - [Dormition of the Virgin]() - [Flagellation]() - [Jacopo Antonio Marcello]() - [Lamentation \(from the sketchook, folios 57b-58a\)]() - [Madonna and Child Adored by Lionello d'Este]() - [Madonna and Child Blessing]() - [Madonna and Child]() - [Madonna and Child]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()