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ALLEGRETTO NUZI MARTYRDOM OF ST BLAISE

Allegretto Nuzi (Italy 1315 - 1373). "The Martyrdom of St. Blaise" is a well preserved 14th Century predella panel whose location was unknown until recently. It is an oil on panel on gold ground which depicts the beheading scene of the Catholic martyr, Saint Blaise. He was a bishop of Sebastea in Armenia who was martyred under the reign of Licinius in the early fourth century. The panel is pictured and recorded as 'homeless' in the book "Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, Central Italian and North Italian Schools" (Bernard Berenson, London, 1968, p.305, fig.211, as 'Scene of Martyrdom'.) The panel is also pictured in the book "Saints in Italian Art, Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting" (G. Kaftal, Florence, 1986, column 204, 54A, nos. 2 and 3, fig.221). According to the literature it was part of the Tuscan altarpiece that included two other predella panels, "The Arrest and Miracles of Saint Blaise" and "The Chastisement of Saint Blaise". The "Arrest Of" and the fragmentary remains of "The Chastisement" sold at auction in July of 2003 for $145,350. Measures: 9" Tall X 11 3/4" Wide.