Description
Saint Jude Thaddeus appears half-length, wearing a dark tunic, a broad orange mantle and holding a red book. An inscription beside his head identifies the apostle, who turns his gaze towards something beyond the painted panel. Gold ground and a finely patterned halo mark his sacred status.
Simone Martini painted this small panel around 1315–1320 as part of a predella displaying ten apostles, now dispersed. It is preserved at the National Gallery of Art in Washington alongside three companions from the same ensemble.
Judas Thaddeus must be distinguished from Judas Iscariot, a different person in Christian tradition. The painted inscription and the panel’s place in a series of apostles help prevent confusion. This work does not show the Passion or an act of betrayal; it presents an individual figure for devotion.
