Predella with scenes from the Life of the Saint

Benozzo Gozzoli completed this predella in 1468 as part of the ancillary narrative supporting a major altarpiece, and it reflects his role as the pre-eminent Florentine painter for elaborate narrative cycles following Fra Angelico's death in 1455. Gozzoli had served as Fra Angelico's assistant for years before establishing his independent career, absorbing the older master's approach to clear, readable storytelling before amplifying it with his own crowded, festive naturalism. Predella panels — the lower horizontal narratives beneath the main altarpiece image — gave painters licence to experiment with spatial depth and figure movement in ways the more formal main panel discouraged. The scenes from a saint's life follow the Goldene Legende formula that Gozzoli had deployed with such success in his San Gimignano Augustinian cycle of the same decade.

Gozzoli's predella panels employ a consistent warm brown-gold palette with figures animated by small gestural details — outstretched hands, turned heads — that convey narrative momentum without theatrical excess. Architectural backdrops show his characteristic blend of fantasy and classical detail. Spatial recession is achieved through overlapping figures rather than rigorous perspective, maintaining legibility at small scale.