The first painting in this selection entered the collection of the Scottish National Gallery in 1938, precisely 600 years after it was made. It has survived through more than six centuries to remain in remarkably good condition and, with its exquisite craftsmanship and direct rendering
of emotion, this Triptych is among the most compelling early Italian pictures in the collection. An inscription on the base gives us its exact date of 1338 and experts agree that the artist was Bernardo Daddi who ran a large and successful workshop in Florence, specialising in this kind of portable altarpiece as well as larger-scale works. With its wings closed, it could be moved easily; with the wings open, the triptych could be used for private devotion or set up in a small chapel, perhaps in a monastery or convent.

Daddi is thought to have trained with Giotto, the leading artist in Florence in the early fourteenth century. Giotto introduced a more naturalistic approach to his subjects with solid figures, modelled in real light, who appear to exist in a convincing space. Daddi’s style combined elements of Giotto’s innovative approach with a more traditional emphasis on pattern and decoration. The artist delighted in finely wrought detail and
in exquisite ornament, incorporating precious metals and expensive pigments into his work.

Like Giotto, however, he was concerned to introduce a variety of gesture and real emotion into his work; in the central scene of the Triptych, it is hard not to be moved by the swooning Madonna, the passionate grief of the red-cloaked Mary Magdalene or details such as the rivulets of blood that run down the length of the cross to gather in a pool at its base.In Florentine art of this period it is rare to have the Crucifixion as the centrepiece with the Madonna and Child displaced to the wings. Here, a Nativity occupies the larger part of the left hand shutter and the Madonna enthroned and surrounded by saints is shown on the opposite wing.

The choice of subject matter probably reflects the concerns of a private patron rather than the whims of the artist. As our eyes move across the surface, we are drawn to the tiny scene in the upper left shutter depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Peter (who was crucified upside down). Again
we see Daddi’s ability to convey narrative with expressive details such as the figure using his foot to pin down the saint’s arm while he nails him to the upturned cross. On the opposite shutter, there is an unusual rendering of Saint Nicholas, the prototype for the modern Santa Claus. According to legend, the saint saved the daughters of an impoverished nobleman from prostitution by donating money for their dowries. Saint Nicholas passes a ball of gold through the window of a room where the three daughters lie sleeping near their distressed father.

This text was originally published in 100 Masterpieces: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2015.