This figure of St John the Evangelist once formed part of an altarpiece predella, flanking an image of the Crucifixion or Pietà in the centre, with a depiction of the mourning Virgin at the left. Its author, the Master of the Osservanza, has been described as one of the outstanding Sienese artists of the second quarter of the fifteenth century. Recent research based on documentary evidence identified the artist as the young Sano di Pietro.
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