Zanobi Machiavelli, 'Saint Mark and Saint Augustine', probably about 1470

Saint Mark, one of the four authors of the Gospels, stands on a tilted floor next to Saint Augustine, a fourth-century theologian. A winged lion, the traditional symbol of Saint Mark, can be seen resting at the feet of the saint.

This panel is a fragment of the same altarpiece to which Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist belongs. It has been said that these two paintings formed part of the same altarpiece as three other panels by Machiavelli, but the shapes and sizes do not correspond. However, the lost or unidentified central panel from this altarpiece is likely to have shown the Virgin Mary and Christ Child and, if that is the case, the tilted floor probably continued seamlessly across all the panels. But it’s also possible that a sculpture formed the centre of this ensemble. Either way, the orientation of Saints Mark and Augustine suggests that this panel was originally on the right-hand side of the central image, while the other would have been on the left.

Mark was among the Twelve Apostles, and here holds a quill and his Gospel, similar to Saint John the Evangelist in the other panel, who writes in a book. Saint Mark’s book is closed, however, perhaps a comment on chronology: the Gospel of Mark dates to the seventh decade AD, while the Gospel of John was probably written around 100 AD.

Saint Augustine was also a celebrated writer. His pearl-studded mitre here contains an image of the Resurrection, as described in the Gospel of Mark. Directly below that image Christ is depicted as the Man of Sorrows, surrounded by further saints in shapes known as quatrefoils. The richly decorated mitre, crosier and gloves identify Augustine as Bishop of Hippo, his home town (the modern city of Annaba, in Algeria). Clutching the crosier with his left hand, his right is raised in blessing, presumably towards the image of the Virgin and Child in the missing central panel.

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the original layout and context of these panels. The depiction of Saint Augustine suggests their origin in an Augustinian foundation. Scholars have speculated that these panels came from the Florentine church of S. Spirito, but there is little evidence in support of this claim. Another possibility is that they came from the Tuscan hilltop town of Montepulciano, where they were recorded in a private collection in the early nineteenth century, but Zanobi Machiavelli is not documented in that city.

There is a profile sketch of a woman on the back of this painting, which may suggest the wooden panel was originally intended for a portrait. No such portrait by the artist is known – he specialised in the production of altarpieces and devotional paintings.