Triptych

religious

The triptych portrays the half-length figures of the Virgin holding the Child in her arms with St Nicholas of Bari on the right and St Matthew the Evangelist on the left; the cusps contain roundels with busts of the Redeemer and two angels. It is signed and dated on the base; it is the painter's first dated work. The layout of the triptych, in which the figures with their clear, bold outlines look like cut-outs set against the gold background, is inspired by Giotto's Badia Polyptych.

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About the Artist

Bernardo Daddi

1280 – 1348

Florentine painter, the outstanding painter in Florence in the period after the death of Giotto (who was possibly his teacher). Daddi ran a busy workshop specializing in small devotional panels and portable altarpieces. His signed and dated works include a polyptych of The Crucifixion with Eight Saints (Courtauld Institute, London, 1348) and the works attributed to him include frescos of the Martyrdoms of SS. Lawrence and Stephen in Santa Croce. His style is a sweetened version of Giotto's, tempering the latter's gravity with Sienese grace and lightness. He favoured smiling Madonnas, teasing children, and an abundance of flowers and trailing draperies. His lyrical manner was extremely popular and his influence endured into the second half of the century.

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