Artwork

Altar predella; Right panel: The parricide of St. Julian - The miracle of St. Nicholas of Bari

Altar predella; Right panel: The parricide of St. Julian - The miracle of St. Nicholas of Bari is a tempera painting by the High Renaissance artist Masaccio. It is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

About this work

Overview

The right-hand panel of an altar predella, executed in tempera by Masaccio in 1426, presents a triptych narrative. The work combines the violent episode of Saint Julian’s parricide with a later miracle attributed to Saint Nicholas of Bari, all within a single rectangular composition now housed in Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie.

Subject & Meaning

The leftmost vignette shows a figure in red brandishing a sword over a sleeping man, representing the murder of Saint Julian by his own son.

The leftmost vignette shows a figure in red brandishing a sword over a sleeping man, representing the murder of Saint Julian by his own son. The central scene pauses the action, with two attendants observing from a doorway, suggesting a moment of contemplation. The rightmost scene depicts a group kneeling beside a bedridden figure, one individual reaching toward him, illustrating the reputed healing miracle performed by Saint Nicholas.

Technique & Style

Masaccio employs tempera on panel, a medium that allows for fine detail and luminous color. The composition is organized into three distinct registers, each rendered with clear spatial recession and a restrained palette typical of early 15th‑century Florentine painting, anticipating the more naturalistic approach of the High Renaissance.

History & Provenance

Created for an altar in the early 1420s, the panel later entered private collections before being acquired by the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. Its survival as part of a predella fragment provides insight into the original altarpiece’s narrative program and the devotional practices of its patrons.

Context

The work reflects contemporary interest in saintly exempla that combined martyrdom and miraculous intercession. By juxtaposing Saint Julian’s tragic death with Saint Nicholas’s charitable miracle, the panel underscores themes of sin, redemption, and divine aid prevalent in early Renaissance religious art.