St. Bernardino

This bust was acquired as that of an unidentified monk. However the type of representation conforms to that of the standard painted representations of Saint Bernardino and seems to deriver from a likeness made during the Saint's lifetime or soon after his death.

Saint Bernardino 1380-1444) was an Italian priest, Franciscan missionary and a Catholic saint. St Bernardino preached all over Italy and played a part in the religious revival of the early fifteenth century.

Portraits of the saint are less frequently encountered in sculpture than in painting.