Saints Benedict and Apollonia (left) and Saints Paul and Frediano (right)

Filippino Lippi created these panels with Saints Benedict, Apollonia, Paul, and Frediano around 1483, now at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. These paired lateral panels once flanked a central altarpiece, the saints' identities indicating a specific institutional or chapel dedication. Benedetto and Apollonia were invoked against convulsions and dental pain respectively; Paul and Frediano were important Lucchese saints. The sharp, expressive characterization of each figure reflects Filippino's training in Botticelli's workshop combined with his own increasingly idiosyncratic figure style. The Lucchese saints suggest a commission for a Florentine chapel with Lucchese connections — common in the period when trade relationships linked Florentine merchants to the cities of Tuscany.

Oil on panel with Filippino's characteristic restless energy and decorative elaboration. The work demonstrates the artistic qualities characteristic of Filippino Lippi's period.