Christ the Redeemer alongside Saints Peter, the Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist and Paul

This panel by Meliore di Jacopo, a documented Florentine painter active in the 1260s-1270s, depicts Christ the Redeemer flanked by Saints Peter, the Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist, and Paul in a formal arrangement derived from Byzantine Deesis compositions. Now in the Uffizi, the work is one of the few securely attributed paintings by Meliore, who signed and dated several works and is thus one of the earliest Italian painters known by name. The panel reflects the monumental altarpiece production that was transforming Florentine churches in the age before Cimabue.

Executed in tempera and gold on panel, the painting presents the five figures in a strict frontal arrangement against a gold ground with hierarchical scaling. Meliore's style features strong, dark outlines, geometric drapery patterns, and large, staring eyes that typify the Florentine adaptation of Byzantine models.