Saints Michael and John the Baptist

Saints Michael and John the Baptist, from the Pratovecchio Altarpiece now in the National Gallery, shows the two saints most frequently depicted in Florentine religious painting — Michael as the warrior angel who defeated Satan, John as the precursor of Christ and patron saint of Florence itself. The pairing in a single panel reflects the altarpiece's complex programme, in which individual panels and pinnacles addressed different devotional needs simultaneously. The Master of Pratovecchio's style reflects mid-century Florentine painting before the full Albertian revolution in naturalism had permeated workshop practice, maintaining the elegant linearity of the International Gothic while absorbing some spatial awareness.

Tempera and gold leaf on panel. The two saints are given equivalent spatial weight within the panel, differentiated by attribute — Michael's armour and sword, John's camel-hair garment and reed cross. Gold ground maintains the hieratic register of the altarpiece's devotional function.