St. Leonard and Devotees

Abstract

This glazed terracotta lunette is located over the door of the oratory of St. Leonardo, which sits immediately beside the Church of Santa Cristina in Bolsena. Cardinal Giovanni di Medici (later Pope Leo X) commissioned the work from Benedetto Buglione in 1493-7 as a part of a major campaign to redecorate the church and tomb of the martyr, largely carried out by Buglione, who was involved in the architectural design of the facade of Santa Cristina and many sculptures on the interior and exterior of the church. Here, flanking St. Leonard are two confraternity members, wearing their confraternal robes and carrying flagels, used in the devotional practice of ritual self-flagellation. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.