The Apostle Saint James the Greater freeing the Magician Hermogenes (detail) by Fra Angelico (c.1427)
The apostle Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee and brother of Saint John the Evangelist, was venerated throughout Europe as the patron saint of pilgrims. Located in the cathedral of Compostela in northern Spain, his shrine attracted thousands of pilgrims who made their way from all parts of Europe on what we now call the camino or the Pilgrim’s Way. During the Middle Ages the most important source for stories about the lives of the saints was a book written by a Dominican, Fra Jacobus de Voragine. This collection known as The Golden Legend survives in hundreds of copies, a testament to its immense popularity. This scene depicted by Fra Angelico closely follows the account in The Golden Legend. According to the legend, after the Ascension, Saint James travelled to Spain preaching and evangelising the local people. On his return to Jerusalem he ordered a Christian convert Philetus to free the repentant magician Hermogenes, around whom demons have wound a rope that the magicians had intended to use to ensnare Saint James. Fra Angelico places the scene of deliverance in an outdoor setting, where the central characters stand in front of an elegant loggia typical of contemporary Renaissance architecture. Saint James the Greater, whom we recognise by his large gold halo, extends his staff towards the convert Philetus. By his action Saint James empowers Philetus to perform the spiritual act which will defeat the demons and free Hermogenes. At the left behind the magician the demons recoil in frustration. Fra Angelico uses brilliant tones of red and blue to link the three central characters and to entrance our eye. The striking scarlet of the magician’s cloak contrasts with the more muted crimson of the saint’s mantle. Fra Angelico was renowned for his mastery of colour as both decorative and a descriptive tool.
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