An Augustinian Friar (?) Praying

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A man seems to be kneeling in a doorway or a window frame, hands folded in prayer. We don't know his identity, but he seems to be an Augustinian friar. Members of the Augustinian Order, which was founded in the thirteenth century, took vows of poverty and lived a monastic life. In public they wore a black cowl over a white tunic, like the one we see here.

This panel was clearly the right wing of a diptych or triptych (a painting in two or three parts, respectively), with the object of the friar’s devotions, most likely the Virgin and Child, shown on his left. The landscape behind him is a mix of fact and fantasy: the towers of two Bruges churches have been deposited in rolling countryside, rather than in the middle of a city.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

An Augustinian Friar (?) Praying

Date

about 1515

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 34.2 x W 26.8 cm

Accession number

NG710

Acquisition method

Presented by Queen Victoria at the Prince Consort's wish, 1863

Work type

Painting

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