Saint Benedict admitting Saints into the Order

This religious painting from 1408 by Lorenzo Monaco reflects the central role of religious painting in the Early Renaissance. Lorenzo Monaco, the Camaldolese monk-painter who was the last great representative of the Gothic style in Florence, approaches the subject with elegant linear rhythms and brilliant coloring, creating an image that would have resonated deeply with contemporary viewers. This was a period of revolutionary change in European art, as painters in Florence and the Low Countries began breaking with medieval conventions to pursue naturalistic representation.

Lorenzo Monaco employs brilliant coloring and Gothic decorative grace to convey the spiritual gravity of the subject. The treatment of the figures shows careful study of earlier masters, while the palette and lighting create the devotional atmosphere the subject demands.