A full understanding of art can surely only be achieved by a knowledge of what is being depicted - if, indeed, we are talking about representational imagery. Given that the vast majority of medieval paintings that have survived in Western Europe were religious in function, whether that was for the decoration of churches or for private devotion in the home, it is essential to know who is represented. Roman Catholicism (as it has been known since the Counter Reformation in the 16th Century) has always been profoundly concerned with the lives of the saints. While I know many of you will know many of them, this two-week 'revision' course will remind us all, I hope, who the most important were, how we can identify them, and why they were important. 

In the first talk I will focus on the National Gallery's resplendent Coronation of the Virgin, by Jacopo di Cione, which boasts 48 saints - even if they can't all be identified. We will explore the painting in depth, thinking about the different ways in which the holy figures can be identified, grouped, and distinguished - with categories ranging from colour and costume, through animal, vegetable and mineral to wheels, weapons and wings.