Blessed Giacomo della Marca – Perugia
The canvas was probably a processional banner, commissioned to Perugino by the Confraternity of San Girolamo in Perugia after 1512, since no mention of the work appears in the inventories of that year.
Blessed Giacomo della Marca, whose remains are kept in the Sanctuary dedicated to him in Monteprandone (AP), was a companion of the preacher Bernardino da Siena.
The Franciscan is represented with the robe of the order, holding a book on the left hand and with the other hand the blood of Christ, contained in an ampoule inside a small monstrance instead of the more usual chalice.
The tile floor recalls previous paintings, such as the tablets in the niche dedicated to San Bernardino and the Annunciation Ranieri. Before arriving in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria as a result of the demanialization of ecclesiastical goods, the painting had been transferred to San Francesco al Prato in 1810.
The work is preserved at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria.
