• Author: Giovanni da Milano
• Date: 1365
• Collection: PAINTING
• Technique: Tempera and gold on wood panel
• Dimensions: 122 x 63 cm (with frame)
• Inventory: Inv. 1890 n. 8467

The panel, signed and dated, still has its original pointed frame. It depicts the dead Christ, but in an upright position, supported by the Virgin and Saint Mary Magdalene, according to the iconography of the Imago Pietatis, while Saint John the Evangelist appears in the background with hands together. The lack of any setting and the compactness of the figures on the pictorial space, give the scene a majestic and symbolic aura.
The coats of arms on the frame made it possible to identify the patrons: Stefano di Soldi Strozzi and Lisa Rinieri Paganelli. The painting comes from the Church of San Girolamo sulla Costa in Florence but may have been intended for the nearby Church of San Giorgio, the parish associated with Lisa’s family.
The name and date at the base of the panel made it the starting point for the reconstruction of the career of its creator, Giovanni da Milano. Active in Florence from 1346 onwards, the artist succeeded in merging the strong realism of the Lombard style with a vivid sense of space inspired by Giotto’s Florentine tradition.

The prodigious pictorial draftsmanship, achieved through a dense weave of fine brushstrokes, and the refined execution, for example in the tangible rendering of the Magdalene’s tears and hair scratched directly on the gold leaf, bestow an extraordinary naturalism on the work and make it one of the undisputed masterpieces of 14th century Italian painting.