Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints

This is a rare surviving example of a complete 13th-century altarpiece. The scenes at the sides, drawn from the legend of Saint Peter, read from left to right across the panel, starting from the top: Christ Calling Peter, Christ’s Charge to Peter, the Fall of Simon Magus, Peter Healing a Crippled Man, the Liberation of Peter, and the Martyrdoms of Peter and Paul. The presence of Saint Leonard to the right of the Virgin suggests that the painting may have come from the church of San Leonardo in Arcetri, just outside the walls of Florence. We are not sure about the author of this painting, but scholars claim it was created by the so-called Master of the Magdalen, an unnamed Florentine artist active in the second half of the 13th century.