Saint Eligius

The Orsanmichele in Florence, converted into a church from a grain market from the mid-fourteenth century, was a prominent place of quattrocento sculpture thanks to its façade decoration. The guilds commissioned sculptures of their patron saints from the foremost Florentine sculptors to decorate the ground floor niches. Nanni di Banco received several such commissions, including the sculpture of Saint Eligius for the niche of the Arte dei Maniscalchi (guild of blacksmiths). The classical figure standing in contrapposto, the folds of its clothes and dignified facial expression suggest the artist’s knowledge of antique examples. The relief on the sculpture’s plinth evokes a blacksmiths’ workshop