The Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul

Bernardo Daddi's Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul belongs to this Florentine master's production of polyptych altarpieces in the tradition established by Giotto's workshop. Daddi was Giotto's most important follower and the dominant painter in Florence in the mid-fourteenth century, maintaining the master's monumental figure tradition while introducing a gentle intimacy and decorative refinement that made his works particularly suited to private devotion. Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican theologian whose Summa Theologiae defined Catholic doctrine, and Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, provided intellectual and evangelical authority flanking the central Marian image.

Executed in tempera and gold on panel, the composition centers the enthroned Virgin between standing saints in a symmetrical arrangement. Daddi's modeling is softer than Giotto's, with delicate facial features, gentle color harmonies, and ornamental gold tooling that reveals Sienese influence.