Polyptych with Saint James Major, Madonna and Child, and Saints

From the Getty Museum record

Bartolomeo Vivarini's late works are notable for their use of bright, dissonant colors and figures whose firm linear outlines lend them the appearance of sculptures or wood carvings. This polyptych was made for a parish church dedicated to Saint James the Greater and the Virgin *Assunta* (the Virgin ascending to heaven) in Vallata, a town north of Bergamo, Italy. Saint James stands in the center, holding a pilgrim's staff with the symbolic scallop shell and a book. Starting at the lower left, Saint John the Baptist wears his customary tunic of animal skins and a pale gray-green mantle and stands in a rocky setting along the river Jordan, unlike the other figures who stand before a marble ledge. Next to him is Saint John the Evangelist. At the lower right, Saint Bartholomew holds a book and a knife, the symbol of his martyrdom, and alongside, an elderly Saint Peter holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. In the central panel of the upper tier, the Virgin holds the Christ Child, who raises his right arm in blessing. At the top left, Saint Catherine of Alexandria holds a broken wheel with spikes, the symbol of her martyrdom, and Saint Ursula clasps two rods with banners. To the right of the Virgin, Saint Apollonia holds a book and a pincer with a tooth, a reference to the torture of teeth-pulling that she endured, and Saint Lucy holds an oil lamp that alludes to the significance of her name, derived from the Latin “lux” meaning light.