Three Saints




This portion of a relief depicts Saints Philip, Jude, and Bartholomew. It was made around 1150 to adorn the western face of the Cathedral of St Peter in Vic, in Catalonia. The first number of times I saw this piece, I merely noted three identical individuals – barefooted, big-handed, and haloed. It was only after some closer attention I realised that each of the three are subtly different, with individualised hair, beards, and clothing. So the viewer (and presumably the apostles themselves) can tell them apart, their names are visible on the books they hold.

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