Saint Lawrence from a Burgos workshop

Today, August 10, is the feast of Saint Lawrence, a deacon of Rome reportedly martyred in 258. He is one of the oldest and most popular of the post-biblical saints to have enjoyed a sustained popularity and widespread cult since Late Antiquity. Part of his popularity might stem from the nature of his legend, according to which he was placed on a large gridiron to be roasted to death - a story narrated in gruesome detail by the fourth-century Christian poet Prudentius in his book on martyrs, the Liber Peristephanon. Due to his popularity and that he is easily recognised by his main attribute - his gridiron - he can often be found in medieval and early modern art.  

One example of Saint Lawrence in medieval art is the below detail from a predella belonging to an altarpiece made by a workshop of artists in Burgos, Spain, in the second half of the fifteenth century. This is a period of great artistic craft in the style now known as Hispano-Flemish Gothic, a name that points to the close artistic ties between Spain and Flanders in the period. Lawrence is found next to Ambrose of Milan, and the predella also features SS Sebastian, Augustine, Helena, and Barbara. The predella is currently housed at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid.