Triptyque

Niccolo di Tommaso was a Florentine painter active in the third quarter of the fourteenth century, a follower of Nardo di Cione who produced altarpieces for churches and religious confraternities. This triptych, now in the Musee du Petit Palais, represents the portable altarpiece format that served the devotional needs of both ecclesiastical and private patrons. The triptych form, with its hinged wings that could be closed for protection and transport, was one of the most characteristic formats of Gothic panel painting.

Egg tempera on gold-ground panel in the Florentine triptych format, with a central panel flanked by hinged wings. Niccolo di Tommaso's style combines the solid figure modeling of the Orcagnesque tradition with careful decorative detail in the tooled gold ground, punched haloes, and patterned textiles.