In the context of this artwork, analyze the St. Luke - patron saint of painters of the Description and classification.
St. Luke is the patron saint of the painters' guild and is often depicted as the painter of the Virgin Mary. His attributes include a winged bull, a pen and a book or scroll. Theodoric was the head of the painters' guild in Prague from about the mid 1360s and his painting of St. Luke is one of his best works. For Charles IV, this painting was of special significance because in 1354 he received the entire skull of the saint as a relic. It is now part of the St. Vitus Cathedral Treasure.
The first depictions of St. Luke date back to the 8th century (Codex Aureus of Lorsch). In the 13th century, Cimabue painted a fresco of St. Luke in the upper church of Assisi. Later he was the subject of many famous painters (Correggio, Frans Hals, El Greco, Titian, Guercino, Luca Giordano). In the Czech lands, St. Luke (painting the Crucifix) is depicted, for example, in the Gospel of John of Opava (1368) or in a painting by Jan Gossaert from 1520 (National Gallery Prague).
Theodoric National Gallery Prague Jan Gossaert St. Vitus Cathedral Cimabue St. Vitus Cathedral Treasure St. Luke painters' guild National Gallery upper church of Assisi Codex Aureus of Lorsch Virgin Mary Prague Charles IV