Saint Bernardino

In the pictureAgainst a blue ground, an old man in a brown habit stands with a halo, holding up in both hands a red tablet inscribed "IHS" within a sun shape. His face is gaunt and his mouth is pursed as if he has lost his teeth; the halo and the rim of the tablet are gold. It is a small panel, 18 cm tall.

BackgroundBernardino was a Franciscan friar who traveled the cities of Italy in the first half of the 15th century preaching in public squares, and he was famous for holding up to crowds a tablet bearing the IHS monogram, which stands for the name of Jesus. When he was made a saint in 1450, Sano di Pietro, a painter of his home city of Siena, painted dozens of portraits of him; memories of people who had actually seen him were still alive then, so the gaunt face is close to a true likeness.

Puzzle tipThe blue ground, brown habit, gold halo and red tablet separate clearly by color. Fit the face and the IHS tablet first, ring the top with the round gold pieces of the halo, then fill in the blue background. 24 or 48 pieces is about right.