The Disputation on the Trinity

Andrea del Sarto painted this around 1517 for the church of San Gallo, an Augustinian house just outside the walls of Florence. Some 12 years later that church was pulled down as the city braced for a siege, and altarpieces like this one were carried inside the walls to safety. Four saints stand debating the mystery of the Trinity, which appears as a vision at the top. Augustine leads them, fitting for an Augustinian church, with Lawrence, Peter Martyr and Francis alongside. Below sit Saint Sebastian and Mary Magdalene, and the Magdalene wears the features of Lucrezia del Fede, the painter's wife, whom he used again and again as his model. It is one of three works Sarto made for San Gallo before the church itself was gone.