Santa Croce Altarpiece

The early Italian High Altar by Ugolino di Nerio for Santa Croce, the great Franciscan church of Florence, is well-documented. With at least thirty-five sections in all, this massive altar was painted and erected c. 1325-28. These panels recall Duccio's sense of style and organization, as Ugolino was still working with Byzantine line and colour. The altar was dismantled shortly after 1566 and moved to the church's dormitory. By the 1830s, most of its panel had been sold. Now the surviving panels are scattered among museums and private collections.

The original appearance of the altarpiece can be reconstructed on the basis of a nineteenth-century drawing attributed to Humbert de Superville. It is thought that the drawing is in essence accurate.