Bassano, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

I’m attached to the saint we’re talking about today: St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and gave his name to that fantastic place in Fife (legend says that relics were conveyed there from Constantinople in the 10th century). Andrew was a brother of Saint Peter and, like him, a disciple of Christ. Andrew’s attribute is an X-shaped cross, following the method of his martyrdom: he requested not to die on a Latin cross, deeming himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. St Andrew’s Cross is still on the national flag of Scotland.

Our painting today arranges Andrew center stage: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1545) shows him with arching cape and outstretched arms. Like his brother Peter, Andrew was a fisherman, living and working by the Sea of Galilee. This painting freeze-frames the famous moment when Christ calls both brothers to his ministry with the words “from now on, you will be fishers of men.”

This large and luscious painting is by the Venetian artist, Jacopo Bassano. It was “discovered” in the late 1980s and has been beautiful boost to his oeuvre. Even though Bassano (c. 1515 – 1592) is often not mentioned in the same breath as the undisputed A-list of 16th century Venetian artists (we’re talking Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese), no one should gloss glibly over his gargantuan achievements.