Volunteer Artwork of the Month - Andrea di Bartolo

The National Gallery of Ireland is proud of its panel of enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.

Volunteers play an important role in many areas of the Gallery, from welcoming our visitors as they enter the Gallery to showing that anyone can be an artist in the Creative Space. They ensure that the Gallery is consistently offering an outstanding visitor experience. In return, Gallery volunteers deepen their knowledge of art, develop a variety of skills, meet like-minded art enthusiasts, and more. Our volunteers are often the first point of contact for people who come into the Gallery. As part of a new series, we're asking our volunteers to share the artwork they tell visitors not to miss when exploring the Gallery for the first time. 

Biddy Scott chose Saint Galgano Inviting the People to Adore the Cross by Andrea di Bartolo ( fl. c.1389, d.1428). Scroll down to read more. 

Tell us a bit about the painting. What do you like about it? 

In Room 30 of our National Gallery there is a little jewel of storytelling that was once part of an upright altarpiece celebrating the life of Galgano Guidotti (1148-81). It’s interesting that Galgano died in the same year that Francis of Assisi is believed to have been born, because they had much in common: both rejected posh backgrounds, embracing poverty and the joys of contemplation. 

In our painting Galgano’s family and his girlfriend, Polissena have chased him up Mount Siepi to persuade him to come down and be sensible. In response, he encourages them to adore the cross, which is actually his upside-down sword, miraculously embedded in a rock. His head is now in a reliquary in the Duomo of Siena and the sword-rock remains to be seen in a rotunda at Mount Siepi. 

Besides the romantic realism of this story, the artist, Andrea di Bartolo Cini (c.1360-1428), born into the generation that followed the Black Death, was really a bit of a lad. His father was more famous, a stalwart of Sienese society, but Andrea wandered, spending time in Venice and producing a variable style that, while embracing tradition, was more solid and less twiddley than that of his contemporaries. Our painting has a lovely simplicity in composition and colour that feels approachable to the modern eye and it has always been one of my favourite pieces in one of the oldest and most interesting historical sections of our Gallery. 

I think I like this particular work - and others from this period - because it lacks too much realism. It tells a story using visual imagination and this is something that I think we somehow shy away from in our practical world. I think we need a little more of the miraculous and, for me, the best art can do this.

What do you enjoy about volunteering at the Gallery?

I enjoy volunteering at the National Gallery for simply two reasons, the art and the people. The other volunteers and the public and all the staff that we meet are always good fun and great to talk to. The opportunity to get friendly with the collection and all the visiting art is wonderful.

Thank you, Biddy! Find this painting by Andrea di Bartolo hanging in Room 32 the next time you visit us.

You can read more about the Gallery's Volunteer Programme here. 

Please note that we are not currently seeking volunteers - our next callout will be in 2027.