Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Saints

This Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Saints by the Master of the Dominican Effigies, painted around 1345, follows the sacra conversazione format that was becoming increasingly popular in Italian Gothic altarpieces. The anonymous master, named for a series of portraits of Dominican friars, worked in Florence in the circle of Bernardo Daddi and the Giottesque tradition. The inclusion of Dominican saints in the composition confirms the panel's origin in a Dominican church or chapel.

Painted in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, the enthroned Virgin occupies the central axis with saints arranged symmetrically on either side in the traditional hierarchical format. The figures display the softened Giottesque modeling and gentle expressions typical of this master's work, with carefully tooled gold halos and decorative punchwork.