Saint Jerome; Dormitio Virginis; St. Francis receiving the stigmata

Zanobi Strozzi, Domenico di Michelino 1440-1445

Audio description of the artwork

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The three compartments of the predella with St. Jerome in the Desert, the Dormitio Virginis and St. Francis receiving the Stigmata were probably separated at the end of the 18th century by an altarpiece identified by scholars in the rounded panel with the Ascension of the Virgin between Saints Jerome and Francis, now preserved in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

Technical information

Author: Zanobi Strozzi, Domenico di Michelino
Title: Saint Jerome; Dormitio Virginis; St. Francis receiving the stigmata
Date: 1440-1445
Material and technique: Tempera and gold on panel
Size: 17,5x47; 17,5x47; 17,6x47 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
First Floor

The entire complex consisting of the altarpiece and the predella was originally intended to adorn an altar in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral of Prato. It was the result of a collaboration between the artists Domenico di Michelino and Zanobi Strozzi. Both Florentine painters were among the major advocates of Beato Angelico's style.

Various scholars over time have tried to recognise the intervention of one or the other painter in the three scenes. Based on the soft coloring and, most importantly, the very distinctive physiognomies of the angels, the most recent contributions identify the hand of Zanobi Strozzi in the central compartment. The splintered rock landscapes on the two sides would instead be the artwork of Domenico di Michelino.