Saint Agnes

This panel of Saint Agnes by Andrea di Bonaiuto, dated around 1363 and now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, depicts the popular early Christian virgin martyr identifiable by her attribute of the lamb. Andrea di Bonaiuto (also called Andrea da Firenze) was one of the most important Florentine painters of the 1360s, best known for his monumental fresco cycle in the Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella. This smaller panel reflects his work in the more intimate format of individual saint portraits.

Tempera and gold on panel. Andrea's figure displays the solid volumetric modeling of the Florentine tradition combined with an ornamental richness in the textile patterns and gold tooling that shows awareness of contemporary Sienese refinement.