ANDREA DEL SARTO
(b. 1486, Firenze, d. 1530, Firenze)

Sts Michael and John Gualbert

1528
Tempera on wood, 184 x 172 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

This painting is part of an altarpiece for the church at Vallombrosa, near Florence, home of the monastic community reformed by St John Gualbert (Giovanni Gualberto) in the eleventh century. Even though St John is the patron saint of Florence, the date, 1528, is below St Michael the Archangel, the highest ranking figure in this hierarchy.