Triptych: Centre Panel: The Virgin and Child with Sts Peter, Paul, Zenobius and Catherine of Alexandria

This triptych by Andrea di Bonaiuto, dated around 1365 and now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, presents the Virgin and Child enthroned with Saints Peter, Paul, Zenobius, and Catherine of Alexandria. The inclusion of St. Zenobius, the first bishop of Florence, firmly anchors the work in Florentine devotional culture. Andrea's triptych format, with its hinged wings, would have served either as a small altarpiece for a private chapel or as a portable devotional object for a prosperous household.

Tempera and gold on panel in triptych format. Andrea employs a clear, structured composition with solidly modeled figures arranged symmetrically around the central Virgin, using the rich blue, red, and gold palette characteristic of Florentine Gothic panel painting.