Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Music-Making Angels and Saints Andrew (or Philip), Nicholas of Bari, John the Baptist and James the Less

In 1353 the Del Palagio family founded a chapel in the Florentine church of Santissima Annunziata, the first on the right as you walk in, and dedicated it to Saint Nicholas of Bari. This polyptych was very probably painted for its altar within the next two or three years, which explains who stands closest to the Virgin. The bishop in red with a mitre is Nicholas, the patron saint, given the place of honour beside her and turned almost in profile, as if the two were talking. His stories once covered the walls around it, in frescoes the early sources credit to the painter Taddeo Gaddi, now lost. Orcagna, born Andrea di Cione, gives every figure the massive, solemn build, firm outline and stern face of his style, rooted in Giotto's immediate followers. Even the two small angels at the foot of the throne look grave, one of them playing a little organ.