Pietà: Christ Mourned by the Virgin, Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint John the Evangelist

Along the base the painter wrote in plain Italian, I, Giovanni da Milano, painted this panel, and added the year 1365. Historians have used that line as the starting point for piecing together his whole career. The coats of arms at the two ends identified the patrons, Stefano di Soldi Strozzi and Lisa Rinieri Paganelli. The picture came from the church of San Girolamo sulla Costa in Florence, though it may first have been meant for nearby San Giorgio, the parish of Lisa's family, and it keeps its original pointed frame. The dead Christ is held upright, the Virgin pressing her cheek to his and Mary Magdalene holding his arm, with Saint John behind them. Look closely for the tears, painted so they seem to stand on the skin, and at the Magdalene's hair, scratched straight into the gold leaf.