Virgin Mary and Child with Saints James the Greater, John the Baptist, Andrew and Bernard; Kneeling Donors, Stories from the Lives of Saints, Baptism of Christ and Adoration of the Magi. On the cusps: Redeemer, Annunciation

Mariotto di Nardo 1424

In the hall dedicated to the period between the Late Gothic and the Renaissance, this monumental work, known as the Serristori Polyptych after the name of its patron and created in 1424 by Mariotto di Nardo, is of particular note. It is a true “altar machine” on several registers: in the centre of the triptych the enthroned Virgin Mary, surrounded by angels, presents the Child and at her sides are Saints James the Greater, John the Baptist, Andrew and Bernard. On the side cusps is the Annunciation, with the Archangel Gabriel on the left and the Virgin Mary on the right, while in the centre the Eternal Father is in the act of blessing. At the bottom, as is customary, is the predella, where various scenes follow one another.

Technical information

Author: Mariotto di Nardo
Title: Virgin Mary and Child with Saints James the Greater, John the Baptist, Andrew and Bernard; Kneeling Donors, Stories from the Lives of Saints, Baptism of Christ and Adoration of the Magi. On the cusps: Redeemer, Annunciation
Date: 1424
Material and technique: Tempera and gold on panel
Size: 315x275 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
First Floor

The polyptych was commissioned for the family chapel in the church of San Francesco in Figline Valdarno by Bernardo di Tommaso Serristori, who appears portrayed as the first character on the left of the predella, kneeling and praying, while on the opposite side, in the same attitude, is his wife Cecca Caffini, whom Bernardo married in the year 1424. In the lower register, scenes related to the figures above are depicted between the two spouses: for instance, under St. James is the moment of his beheading, under St. John the Baptist is the Baptism of Jesus, then there follows the Nativity in correspondence with the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, under St. Andrew is his martyrdom, and finally, the salient episode in the life of St. Bernard is painted, namely the apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Mariotto di Nardo, who had trained in the famous workshop of his father and uncles Jacopo and Andrea (known as l'Orcagna), was attracted to the elegant “more international” art of Gherardo Starnina and Lorenzo Monaco. In this work, from his extreme phase, the elegant and late Gothic overtones coexist with the recovery of a compositional balance and a Giotto-inspired severity, as can be seen in the saints around the Virgin, enlivened, however, by the sparkling colour range, with bold combinations, and the profusion of gold.
This large altarpiece is remarkably well preserved, even though some of the decorative woodwork, pillars and pinnacles were rebuilt in 1880 and the predella supplemented and completed in 1904, also with remakes (an example of this is the figure of the kneeling donatrix). The most recent restoration has led to a more coherent reading of the whole, recovering large original pieces underneath the repainting, and restoring the correct balance between Mariotto di Nardo's original painting and the irreversible integrative interventions of past centuries.