Saint Candidus, Ayne Bru, 16th century (Detail). Oil, stucco reliefs and gold leaf on wood, 182 x 88 x 7 cm. MNAC - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Barcelona.
This panel, showing Saint Candidus dressed in splendid knight’s armour, might have been one of the doors on the main altarpiece of the Monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès, from which the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya also preserves The beheading of Saint Cucuphas. These are the only surviving works by Ayne Bru, one of the most important 16th-century Catalan painters. He was an itinerant artist, born and trained in Central Europe, influenced by Flemish culture but also aware of Italian styles. The saint’s courtly pose and humanist air have been linked with the style of Giovanni Bellini’s Venetian studio, which generated Giorgione’s mannerist style.
