Artwork

Szene aus dem Leben des Hl. Vinzenz Ferrer: Durch Aufregungen infolge des Schismas erkrankt der Heilige; er wird am Krankenbett vom Heiligen Dominikus besucht und von Christus geheilt

Szene aus dem Leben des Hl. Vinzenz Ferrer: Durch Aufregungen infolge des Schismas erkrankt der Heilige; er wird am Krankenbett vom Heiligen Dominikus besucht und von Christus geheilt is an unspecified painting by Agnolo degli Erri. It is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

About this work

Overview

A panel by Agnolo degli Erri portrays a moment from the hagiography of Saint Vincent Ferrer, showing the saint bedridden after the turmoil of the Western Schism and receiving a miraculous cure. The composition places the ailing figure in a courtyard setting, surrounded by attendants, while Saint Dominic appears as a visitor and Christ is depicted administering the healing.

Subject & Meaning

The narrative captures the theological theme of intercession: Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican order to which Ferrer belonged, offers spiritual support, and Christ’s direct intervention underscores the saint’s sanctity and the power of divine mercy during a period of ecclesiastical crisis.

Technique & Style

Executed in the early Quattrocento Gothic idiom, the work employs a restrained palette of dark robes trimmed in white, contrasted with a warm, yellow‑brown architectural backdrop. Light falls on the foreground figures, creating a gradual chiaroscuro that models forms and suggests depth within the tiled courtyard.

History & Provenance

Created in Modena, where Agnolo collaborated with his brothers on numerous devotional commissions, the panel later entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of Italian Renaissance art.

Context

The painting reflects the 15th‑century Italian interest in visualizing the lives of saints as moral exemplars. By situating the miracle in a recognizable domestic space, the artist connects the celestial event to everyday experience, a common strategy in Gothic devotional imagery.