The Virgin and Saint Elizabeth with the Infant Saint John (casket lid, back); The Four Evangelists with Saint Christopher, Saint Anthony Abbot, Saint Liberius (casket, back)

Simone dei Crocifissi's Virgin and Saint Elizabeth with the Infant Saint John belongs to this Bolognese master's production of devotional panels combining the Visitation theme with the childhood relationship between the two divine infants. Simone dei Crocifissi (named for his many depictions of the Crucified Christ) was among the most significant painters in Bologna in the second half of the fourteenth century, developing a distinctive style that combined Bolognese manuscript illumination's decorative refinement with the Sienese figure tradition's emotional warmth. His charming treatment of the two holy infants and their mothers created intimate devotional images of unusual tenderness.

This work demonstrates Gothic painting techniques.