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Master of Saint Augustine , Netherlandish, fl. c.1490-1500

Title

Scenes from the Life of Saint Augustine

Date1490s

MediumOil on oak panel

Dimensions

136.1 x 66.4 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1919 (Lane Fund)

Object numberNGI.823

DescriptionThis panel is the right wing of a dismantled triptych depicting scenes from the life of St Augustine (ad 354–430). The central panel is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, while a fragment from the reverse side of one of the wings is at the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen. The whereabouts of the left wing is unknown.

The main subject of the Dublin panel is the death of St Augustine, who is handed a lit candle according to the sacrament of extreme Unction. The foreground includes various objects used at the last sacrament, including a glass of water, a candlestick, a ciborium, and a ewer and basin to wash the priest’s hands. The emphasis on the final anointing reflects its pre-eminence in Augustinian thinking. Jacobus de Voragine’s Legenda Aurea mentions that in his final hour St Augustine stressed the importance for every Christian not to die without confession and viaticum (administration of the eucharist). On the left, a layman who was cured by St Augustine is shown kneeling down in prayer.
Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Label TextThis panel is the right wing of a dismantled triptych depicting scenes from the life of Saint Augustine (AD 354–430). The main subject is the death of Saint Augustine, who is handed a lit candle according to the sacrament of Extreme Unction. The foreground includes various objects used at the last sacrament, including a glass of water, a candlestick and a ciborium. On the left, a layman, who was cured by Saint Augustine, is shown kneeling down in prayer. The top part of the painting depicts the apparition of Saint Jerome to Saint Augustine and another unidentified scene.