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Jacopo di Cione and workshop, 'Blessed Paola', about 1365-70

About the work

Beata Paola was a member of the Camaldolese order. This panel was part of a altarpiece which was built for the monastery, Santa Maria degli Angeli. Beata Paola was buried under the high altar. She died in 1368. Her depiction on the pilaster assists the dating of the altarpiece.

Key facts

Full title
Blessed Paola
Artist
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Artist dates
documented 1365; died 1398 -1400
Part of the series
The Littleton Pilaster Saints
Date made
about 1365-70
Medium and support
Tempera on panel
Dimensions
48.2 × 11.9 × 2.3 cm
Acquisition credit
On loan from the Rector and Churchwardens of St Mary Magdalene Church, Littleton
Inventory number
L1080
Location
Not on display
Image copyright
On loan from the Rector and Churchwardens of St Mary Magdalene Church, Littleton, © St Mary Magdalene Church, Littleton
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

About the series: The Littleton Pilaster Saints

Jacopo di Cione and workshop, 'Blessed Paola', about 1365-70

These six pilaster panels were discovered wrapped in newspaper in 1995 in the church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Littleton, having been removed during the restoration of the church in the 1970s.

They have recently been cleaned by students at the Courtauld Institute. They are first recorded in the collection of the 19th-century collector, William Young Ottley.

The presence of three saints of the Camaldolese order (reformed Benedictines) suggests they may have come from the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. They may have been part of the same altarpiece as the pinnacle panel with Noli me tangere on display in the same room. This in turn has been associated with several fragments in American collections which may have formed part of an altarpiece thought to have come from a chapel dedicated to All Saints in Santa Maria degli Angeli, founded by a notary, Ser Francesco di ser Berto degli Albizzi.

The di Cione brothers, Andrea, Jacopo and Nardo dominated Florentine painting during the second half of the 14th century. Also by Jacopo and his workshop in the National Gallery is the gigantic altarpiece from San Pier Maggiore, Florence, painted 1370-71 showing the Coronation of the Virgin, and the Crucifixion.

Blessed Paola
Blessed Paola
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display
Saint Luke
Saint Luke
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display
Saint Peter Damian
Saint Peter Damian
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display
Saint Anthony Abbot
Saint Anthony Abbot
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display
Blessed Silvestro
Blessed Silvestro
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display
Saint John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
Not on display

More works by Jacopo di Cione

(Showing 6 of 14 works)
The Crucifixion
The Crucifixion
Jacopo di Cione
This picture is unusual in Italian painting of this period in showing so much detail from the Gospel accounts of Christ’s crucifixion in one relatively small panel. Such images were usually reserved for large wall paintings. Christ is shown on the Cross between the two thieves who were crucified...
Not on display
Adoring Saints: Left Main Tier Panel
Adoring Saints: Left Main Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
The saints arranged here neatly in rows are looking towards the central panel of the complex, four-tiered altarpiece that this picture comes from, which shows Christ crowning the Virgin Mary. This scene is mirrored on a panel on the other side of the central image. Together, these three panels to...
Not on display
Adoring Saints: Right Main Tier Panel
Adoring Saints: Right Main Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
The saints arranged neatly in rows look towards the central panel – which shows Christ crowning the Virgin Mary – of the four-tiered altarpiece that this picture comes from. A panel on the other side of the central image mirrors the scene here. Together, these three panels formed the main level o...
Not on display
Pentecost: Upper Tier Panel
Pentecost: Upper Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
At Pentecost, after Christ’s death, his disciples were imbued with the Holy Ghost, shown here as a dove. Tongues of fire appeared on their heads and they were able to speak multiple languages.The disciples are seated in a circle in the upper storey of a house, with the Virgin Mary and Saint Peter...
Not on display
Seraphim, Cherubim and Adoring Angels
Seraphim, Cherubim and Adoring Angels
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This is one of two panels, almost mirror images of each other, that flank either side of the central and uppermost panel of the large altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence.Gathered together against a completely gold backdrop representing heaven are groups of angelic beings...
Not on display
Seraphim, Cherubim and Adoring Angels
Seraphim, Cherubim and Adoring Angels
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This is one of two panels, almost mirror images of one another, that flank either side of the central and uppermost panel of the large altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence.Gathered together against a completely gold backdrop representing heaven are groups of angelic being...
Not on display
The Adoration of the Kings: Upper Tier Panel
The Adoration of the Kings: Upper Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This panel is the second in a series of scenes of the life of Christ, part of a multi-panelled altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence. This sequence ran above the altarpiece’s main tier, which showed the coronation of the Virgin surrounded by adoring saints.We see three kin...
Not on display
The Ascension: Upper Tier Panel
The Ascension: Upper Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This panel, which comes from an altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, belongs to a sequence of narrative scenes showing events from Christ’s birth, the Resurrection and Ascension. These sat above the three panels of the main tier showing the coronation of the Virgin sur...
Not on display
The Coronation of the Virgin: Central Main Tier Panel
The Coronation of the Virgin: Central Main Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This is the central panel of a large altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore, Florence. Christ crowns the Virgin, after her body and soul have been taken up to heaven. This was an important moment: it established the Virgin’s role as an intercessor to whom believers could address thei...
Not on display
The Nativity with the Annunciation to the Shepherds
The Nativity with the Annunciation to the Shepherds
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This panel was the first in a series showing scenes from Christ’s life, the Resurrection and his ascension to heaven and was part of a four-tiered altarpiece made for the Florentine church of San Pier Maggiore. These panels sat above the main tier of images showing the heavenly coronation of the...
Not on display
The Resurrection: Upper Tier Panel
The Resurrection: Upper Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
The Roman soldiers who have been posted to guard Christ’s tomb from grave robbers have fallen asleep. Christ has risen from his grave and is shown above his tomb holding a white flag with a red cross, a symbol of the Resurrection. The lid of the tomb is still closed, emphasising the miracle of th...
Not on display
The Three Marys at the Sepulchre: Upper Tier Panel
The Three Marys at the Sepulchre: Upper Tier Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This panel comes from an altarpiece made for the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence, and belongs to a sequence of narrative scenes showing events from Christ’s birth, the Resurrection and his ascension to heaven. They appeared above the three panels of the main tier, which show the coronatio...
Not on display
The Trinity: Central Pinnacle Panel
The Trinity: Central Pinnacle Panel
Jacopo di Cione and workshop
This was once the central and uppermost part of a multi-panelled altarpiece, made for the church of San Pier Maggiore in Florence. Although it would have been displayed very high, right at the top of this large altarpiece, the limited colours, bold shapes and simple design mean it would have been...
Not on display
Noli me tangere
Noli me tangere
Probably by Jacopo di Cione
This small picture shows Jesus Christ meeting Mary Magdalene after his resurrection. Mary can be identified by her red robes and long blonde hair. She had gone to Jesus‘ tomb to anoint his body but found it empty. When Jesus appeared, Mary tried to touch him, but he said ’Touch me not; for I am n...
Not on display
You've viewed 6 of 14 works