Saint Damian
Ca. 1510.Room 052C
Depicted more than half-length, the Saint wears a flesh-colored tunic and blue robes with a fur collar and lining and a black cap. The jar of salve in his left hand alludes to his role as a holy doctor. The lower part of the background is unfinished, and only the sky remains in the upper part. While this painting´s attribution to Yáñez has sometimes been questioned, considering it the work of his collaborator, Fernando Llanos, it is now unquestionable, given the quality, the technical care and the mastery of the vertical lines in the torso and clothing.
It is likely that the full body of the saint was originally represented full length in a panel in which Saint Cosmas also appeared, forming the traditional image of the two doctor brothers in the third century, much venerated in Valencia, from where the work originates. In fact, a Saint Cosmas is known in a private collection in Madrid which must be linked to this figure. The octagonal format of the work must have been imposed in the nineteenth century, at a time when the formulas of the Italian Renaissance were emulated.
