St. Nicholas of Bari

The saint can be recognised by his bishop’s vestments, the three golden balls that, according to legend, he gave to three poor girls as a dowry, and the ship that he rescued from distress. The intensity of the three principal colours chalk-white, crimson-red and blue-green, the highly dramatic direction of the light and the stupendous vitality of motion as well as the lively structure of the application of paint (which in some instances admits the herringbone pattern of the canvas as an element in the painting) all give the figure of the saint a vibrant expressive power.