Under the Virgin and Child are five small arches with figures. These are, from the left, a crowned female saint holding a cross, Saint Paul, Saint Dominic, a male saint, and a kneeling nun. This last figure, presented in a different scale, is the donor of the painting. This is one of the earliest surviving examples of a small, independent panel containing a predella. The original engaged frame shows that the painting is a complete devotional image, not part of a larger ensemble.

For nearly its entire known history, this unusually refined panel has been considered a typical work of Simone Martini’s brother-in-law and sometime collaborator, Lippo Memmi (act. 1317–1357). Distinguishing between the hands of Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi in their collaborative and imitative efforts has long been and remains one of the most contentious topics in the study of early Italian paintings. Miklós Boskovits has suggested that two paintings universally attributed to Lippo Memmi (this panel and a related image in Kansas City) actually share all the features of conception and handling that he individuated in the personality of Simone Martini. Not only do these two panels share the refinement of execution typical of Simone Martini’s best work, but also their figure types are directly related to those in Simone’s mature altarpieces and not to any of Lippo Memmi’s more solid, carefully drawn examples.

Source: Laurence Kanter, "Virgin and Child," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 43.

Purchased (as Lippo Memmi) in 1897 from the dealer Stefano Bardini, Florence.