Why is the Stefaneschi Triptych painted on both sides?

The altarpiece sat on the high altar of Old St. Peter's, visible from both sides. Worshippers behind the altar saw one set of scenes; those in front saw another.

Who commissioned the Stefaneschi Triptych?

Cardinal Giacomo Stefaneschi commissioned the work around 1320. He appears in the painting, kneeling to present the triptych to Saint Peter.

Is the triptych entirely by Giotto?

Giotto designed the work and painted key sections, but his workshop assistants executed much of the detail. This was standard practice for large commissions in medieval workshops.

Where Is Stefaneschi Triptych? See It at Vatican Museums

Giotto and his workshop created the Stefaneschi Triptych around 1320 for Cardinal Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi. The altarpiece was painted on both sides to be visible from the front and back of Saint Peter's high altar. It's one of the few surviving panel paintings securely attributed to Giotto.

The front shows Christ enthroned surrounded by angels, with Peter's martyrdom on the left wing and Paul's beheading on the right. The back shows Peter enthroned as first pope, flanked by apostles. Cardinal Stefaneschi himself kneels offering the triptych to Peter. The gold backgrounds and formal compositions follow Byzantine tradition, but Giotto's figures show naturalistic weight and emotion. It resides in the Vatican Museums' Pinacoteca.

Stefaneschi Triptych

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Giotto di Bondone

St. Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Man

Canonization of St Francis

The Trial by Fire, St. Francis offers to walk through fire, to convert the Sultan of Egypt

Ognissanti Madonna

Also at Vatican Museums

The Liberation of Saint Peter

The Parnassus

The Entombment of Christ

Apollo Belvedere

Related Renaissance Works

Sistine Madonna

The Birth of Venus

The School of Athens

The Alba Madonna

Venus of Urbino

Venus with a Mirror

Laocoön

Pallas and the Centaur

About Stefaneschi Triptych

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