Saints Mary Magdalene, Nicholas, John the Baptist and George (Quaratesi Polyptych)

Saint Nicholas stands second from the left, and he has a good reason to be here. The altarpiece was painted for San Niccolò Oltrarno, the church of Saint Nicholas on the south bank of the Arno in Florence, and Gentile signed it in May 1425. Look at the broad band running down the front of the bishop's cope. It is painted as embroidery, a column of small scenes from the childhood of Christ, among them the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Flight into Egypt. In his hand are three golden balls, for the gold he secretly gave three poor girls as dowries. Mary Magdalene, at the far left, holds her jar of ointment. John the Baptist wears his rough camel skin under a pink cloak, and Saint George, in shining armour, carries a shield marked with a red cross. In the outer pinnacles the angel of the Annunciation and the Virgin face each other across all four panels. The altarpiece was taken apart in the 19th century, and the Madonna that stood between these saints now hangs in the National Gallery in London.