Three Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Evangelist: Predella

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Two female saints stand at the ends of this predella (the part of an altarpiece below the main level), one holding pincers, the other with two snakes. These are Saint Agatha, or possibly Apollonia, and Saint Verdiana. In between them are three scenes from the life of Saint John the Evangelist.

These paintings are the base of a large polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) painted in the early 1420s by the Florentine artist Giovanni del Ponte. It once stood on the high altar of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista at Pratovecchio near Florence, and the saints included were special to the nuns at Pratovecchio. John was their patron saint, Verdiana was a local anchorite (religious recluse) – the nuns lived partly as hermits – and Agatha was the name of the abbess when the altarpiece was commissioned.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Three Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Evangelist: Predella

Date

about 1420-4?

Medium

Egg tempera on wood

Measurements

H 34 x W 244.2 cm

Accession number

NG580.12

Acquisition method

Bought, 1857

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

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