Saint Reparata before the Emperor Decius

Bernardo Daddi's Saint Reparata before the Emperor Decius, painted around 1338 and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of a series of predella panels depicting scenes from the martyrdom of Florence's original patron saint. Saint Reparata's cult was central to Florentine civic identity, as the old cathedral bore her name before its rededication to Santa Maria del Fiore. Daddi's narrative panel captures the dramatic moment of the young Christian woman's confrontation with the pagan emperor, a scene that carried both devotional and civic significance for Florentine viewers.

Painted in tempera and gold on panel in the small, horizontal predella format, the scene demonstrates Daddi's gift for clear, readable narrative composition with well-spaced figures in an architectural setting. The emperor's court is suggested through simplified but effective spatial devices, while the figures display Daddi's characteristically gentle facial types and flowing drapery.