Ugolino di Nerio
, Italian, fl. 1317-?1339/49
Title
The Prophet IsaiahDate1320s
MediumTempera and gold leaf on wood panel
Dimensions
39 x 25 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1943
Object numberNGI.1112
DescriptionThis single figure of the prophet Isaiah was formerly the pinnacle of an elaborate Gothic altarpiece and today is the only surviving panel. The complete polyptych would have featured the Virgin and Child on the central panel, and various saints on the side panels. On the lowest register there would have been a plinth (a predella) with episodes of the life of Christ or of a particular saint, while the upper area would have had a series of small half-figures of saints or prophets, such as this one. Isaiah was one of the prophets who predicted the birth of Christ. His famous words (Isaiah 7:14) appear in Latin on the scroll held in his hands:‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’.
Despite its small dimensions, this is an image of great tension and austerity, sensitively depicted by the artist. The figure is rendered in a similar way to those in his major work, the dispersed High Altar from Santa Croce, Florence. Ugolino worked with his father and two brothers and having initially admired and closely followed Duccio’s works, he later created a more individual style.
ProvenancePurchased, Mr F.A. Drey, London, 1943Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Label TextThis panel depicts Isaiah prophesising the birth of Christ. He holds a scroll with Latin text from the Old Testament book of Isaiah: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be Immanuel’. This picture is the only surviving panel of a Gothic polyptych - an altarpiece painting composed of multiple panels. Little is known about the life of the artist from Siena, Italy. Ugolino’s skill as a painter is briefly mentioned by the sixteenth-century writer Giorgio Vasari in his compendium of biographies of Italian artists.