Death of the nobleman of Celano

Taddeo Gaddi's Death of the Nobleman of Celano (c. 1337) illustrates an episode from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, in which a devout nobleman dies at a banquet after receiving the saint's blessing. Taddeo was Giotto's most faithful pupil and longtime assistant, working in the master's workshop for over two decades before establishing his own practice. This panel, now in Munich, likely formed part of a Franciscan narrative cycle celebrating the miracles and ministry of the order's founder.

Painted in egg tempera with gold leaf on panel, the scene demonstrates Taddeo's skill in architectural perspective and multi-figure narrative composition inherited from Giotto. The banquet setting features a convincing spatial interior with foreshortened table and expressive figures reacting to the miraculous death with varied gestures of astonishment.