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Saint Ursula

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This panel shows Saint Ursula, and was once the right-hand shutter of a three-part folding altarpiece made for Paul Withypool, an English merchant and courtier. The opposite shutter, also in the National Gallery’s collection, shows Saint Catherine, while the central panel (in Bristol Museums and Art Gallery) shows Withypool in prayer before the Virgin and Child. Ursula married a pagan prince on the condition that he convert to Christianity and allow her a pilgrimage to Rome. According to legend, she was accompanied by 11,000 virgins. On their return via Cologne they were all slaughtered by the Huns who were besieging the city, after Ursula refused to marry their leader. On the panel’s reverse are two cherubs holding a medallion containing an image of Saint Paul, the donor’s patron saint.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Saint Ursula

Date

1514

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 84 x W 40 cm

Accession number

NG647

Acquisition method

Bought, 1860

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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