Angel (Left Hand)

The angel from the top left corner of the altarpiece reached the National Gallery in 1917, the same year as its partner from the opposite corner, so the pair came back together after more than a century apart. This one was bought from Lord Somers, who had been lending it to exhibitions since 1866.

Infrared photographs show a change of mind. The green drapery streaming behind the figure was first drawn fluttering in a different shape and then altered in paint. Under the green lies a layer of yellow, the same way of building up colour found in the figure of Saint Mamas lower down on the left, and that shared method is one reason this angel is thought to be Pesellino's own work.