• Author: Giotto di Bondone
• Date: 1315 - 1325
• Collection: PAINTING
• Technique: Fragment of detached fresco
• Dimensions: 253 x 131,5 cm
• Inventory: Temporary loan from the Badia Fiorentina

The fragment is one of the few remains of the frescoed decoration of the main chapel of the Badia in Florence depicting Stories from the life of the Virgin, which was destroyed during the radical renovation of the church in the 17th century. It depicts a shepherd among some herds and belonged to the larger scene of Joachim among the Shepherds, which occupied the upper lunette of the left wall.
The historical-artistic sources attribute the chapel’s frescoes to Giotto, who had already painted the famous polyptych for the main altar of the Badia, now in the Uffizi Galleries.

The dating of the few remaining fragments of the cycle is debated and ranges from the early 14th century, since 1310 was the year the altar was consecrated, to 1320-1325, due to stylistic similarities with other works of the great artist’s maturity.