The saint is depicted seated, behind the doe that sustained him on her milk as he retreated into solitude. Saint Giles is dressed in a monk’s cowl and looks with gratitude at the kind animal, his attribute.
The figural group appears tectonic, and the drapery, still marked by touches of graphism, already foreshadows the late Gothic Baroque. This, and the depressed folds indicated in some places, suggest that the carver’s style was influenced by his familiarity with the works of the Villach carving workshop.
The saint with the doe is the work of the Master of the Trboje Madonna, whose works were produced in different parts of Upper Carniola, with some also originating from the southern edges of the Ljubljana Marshes and Goriška Brda. Typical of his work are the genre-specific facial expressions with slightly bulging eyes and plump lips. It is thought that the workshop, which was active in the last decade of the 15th century and until around 1515, was based in Ljubljana.
Provenance: Bled, the old parish church of St Martin