Description
Saint Geminianus wears a mitre and sumptuous red episcopal vestments, holding a crozier and a book. The gold ground and finely worked costume reveal the refinement associated with Simone Martini and his workshop. Preserved at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the panel once belonged to a five-part altarpiece painted around 1319.
Geminianus was the patron saint of San Gimignano. His presence alongside Saint Augustine and Saint Michael supports the proposed original destination of the altarpiece in that town’s church of Sant’Agostino. The photograph shows Geminianus alone rather than the entire polyptych.
The mitre, crozier and book indicate episcopal dignity, but the damaged inscription is particularly important for identifying Geminianus. Medieval images of bishops frequently share the same equipment, making written names a valuable safeguard against confusion. Here the identification also leads to a specific local setting: the saint's significance to San Gimignano.
