St. Benedict, Christ, St. John the Baptist
This devotional triptych was perhaps intended for an altar in a private house. Its dark tones suggest that it was painted in Siena in the early 16th century. The exaggerated, elongated figures are characteristic of the anti-naturalistic style associated with Beccafumi, the leading artist in Siena in the first half of the 16th century. These three panels are currently arranged as a triptych but the perspective of the floor would suggest that they were originally arranged one above the other. Such an arrangement would mean that the pictures would have formed the pilaster of a large altarpiece. It was the practice in the Renaissance for the artist to leave the less important parts of a large altarpiece to his assistants especially when the commission involved a large number of different panels. Christ appears in the centre bearing the cross, with a chalice - the symbol of the Christian faith - at his feet. On the right stands St. John the Baptist, typically depicted wearing an animal-hair tunic. He carries a staff, the symbol for numerous saints noteworthy for their travels and pilgrimages. St. Benedict is usually depicted with a long white beard, and dressed as a Benedictine abbot. He is seen here holding wheat, symbolising the bread of the Eucharist, and his book of rules. Recent restoration has revealed the remains of two keyholes centre-left of the Christ suggesting that the paintings were rearranged and adapted as a piece of furniture early in their history.
