Saint James the Greater with a Living and a Dead Pilgrim Luca Signorelli

The tomb of Saint James the Greater in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela has long been one of the main centres of pilgrimage in Western Christianity. Because of this, the apostle became the patron saint of pilgrims, and he worked numerous miracles for believers on their way to his grave. On one occasion he appeared on horseback before a pilgrim heading towards Santiago, whose companion had died during the journey. Saint James took both men with him, and together they rode to the outskirts of the city, completing the fifteen-day walk in just one night. Once there, the living pilgrim buried his companion. This small panel was originally located, projecting from the plane, beneath the pilaster on the left edge of the predella of a Renaissance altarpiece. The central panel of the altarpiece is now in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan: its inscriptions inform us that it was painted in 1508 by Luca Signorelli, one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance, for an altar in the Church of San Francesco in a small town named Rocca Contrada (now Arcevia, Marche). Saint James was the personal patron saint of the commissioner of the altarpiece, Giacomo di Simone Filippini. In his portrayal of this rarely painted theme, the artist emphasised the warm, confidential relationship between the apostle and the living pilgrim.