Artwork
The Translation of the Body of Saint James the Greater at the Palace of Queen Lupa
The Translation of the Body of Saint James the Greater at the Palace of Queen Lupa is an unspecified painting by the Early Renaissance artist Martín Bernat. It dates from 1490 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1490, *The Translation of the Body of Saint James the Greater at the Palace of Queen Lupa* is a panel painting now in the Museo del Prado. It was executed by Martín Bernat, a Gothic painter active in Zaragoza during the late fifteenth century, whose career overlapped with the early Renaissance in Spain.
Subject & Meaning
The composition illustrates the legendary transport of Saint James’s relics to the palace of Queen Lupa. A green‑clad figure steers a wooden cart drawn by oxen, while onlookers and animals populate the foreground. In the distance a ship sails on water, underscoring the narrative’s theme of movement and pilgrimage.
Technique & Style
Bernat employs the detailed linearity typical of late Gothic art, combined with a nascent interest in spatial depth that anticipates Renaissance concerns. The figures are rendered with precise contours, and the landscape background, including the castle and distant vessel, is treated with a modest atmospheric perspective.
History & Provenance
The work entered the Prado’s collection as part of its acquisition of Spanish medieval and early modern paintings. Documentation links the panel to the Zaragoza workshop of Martín Bernat, who collaborated with contemporaries such as Bartolomé Bermejo during his productive years between 1450 and 1505.
Context
The painting reflects the devotional climate of late medieval Spain, when the cult of Saint James was promoted by both ecclesiastical and royal patrons. Its narrative setting at Queen Lupa’s palace connects local legend with the broader pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, a focal point of religious identity in the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Martín Bernat (fl. 1450 -1505) was a Spanish Gothic style painter, active in Zaragoza, where he had a long collaboration with Bartolomé Bermejo. His dates of birth and death are not known.
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