LIPPI, Fra Filippo
(b. 1406, Firenze, d. 1469, Spoleto)

Madonna Enthroned with Saints (detail)

c. 1445
Tempera on wood
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

The detail shows Sts Cosmas and Anthony of Padua. Sts Damian and Cosmas, to whom the chapel in the Santa Croce was dedicated, were the "personal" saints of Cosimo de' Medici. St Cosmas is shown in a contemplative attitude, holding his martyr's palm like a pen. It is almost as if he were writing.