Reconstruction of Piero della Francesca’s Sant’Agostino altarpiece based on that by Machtelt Israëls, with a revised predella arrangement and added frame (largely hypothetical). The pinnacles are hypothetical. (Rendering by Joseph Godla.)
Hover over the terms to the right to read their definitions and highlight the corresponding areas on the rendering.
Consecrated table at which Mass is said and on which the Eucharist can be put. An altarpiece may be placed on top. Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
An image or images placed on top of the altar that provided a visual framework for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Altarpieces were often painted or sculpted and were typically made out of wood, metalwork, terracotta or marble.
They could be as simple as a single wooden crucifix or as complex as a Duccio's Maestà, a multi-tiered, double-sided, painted and guilded polyptych for the high altar of Siena Cathedral that included images of the Virgin and Child surrounded by saints and angels, with over 50 narrative scenes.
Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
The central register of an altarpiece containing its principle images.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
Relatively small or thin columns.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
The long, horizontal base of an altarpiece, often decorated with images related to the saints depicted in the altarpiece panels above. It is often a box structure that supports the tiers above it.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
Topmost panel(s) of a multi-tiered altarpiece.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
A vertical structural support. Freestanding altarpieces were often supported by lateral piers, which extended to the floor, flanking both the altarpiece and the altar.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
The slightly protruding part of a pier, here used to denote the protrusions of the lateral pier of an altarpiece at the predella level.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
A projecting piece, usually molded, at the foot of a wall, panel, or pier, or supporting (for example) the base of a column or pilaster.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
The decorative, slender, and pointed top of a gable or pilaster.Sassetta: The Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece. Vol. 2. Machtelt Israëls (ed.). Florence and Leiden 2009.
