Saints Cosmas and Damian with their Brothers before Proconsul Lycias

Saints Cosmas and Damian with their Brothers before Proconsul Lycias continues a delightful predella which is believed to have been used as part of the Annalena Altarpiece, being displayed just below the large main panel. They were never actually documented as being together, but the general concensus puts these items together back in the 1440s.

We can immediately spot Proconsul Lycias within this composition, as he sits on the right hand side of the painting. He holds his hand up whilst addressing his visitors. Two soldiers stand to his right, whilst his guests are located just in front of him on the left hand side of the artwork. Five figures sport halos, which presumably identifies them as Saints Cosmas and Damian with their Brothers, with one of them being a young child. They wear attractive robes with some touches of detail, but the piece is again relatively simple in line with the overall style of the predella. The artist makes use of pink, blue and red tones for the clothing, with a bright, light cream colour capturing the architecture which covers the background. Some touches of detail can be found across the various walls, and further buildings are found further back amidst a blue sky. The overall piece feels distinctly that of Fra Angelico but experts have questioned the quality of this piece and suggested that it might have been produced by another, whilst working under his direct orders.

Saint Damian Receives Money from Palladia precedes this piece, with Saints Cosmas and Damian Rescued by an Angel then believed to have followed on afterwards within the likely order of the original predella. These paintings were later removed and placed alongside panels by other artists, making it hard for historians to then work out its own history, several centuries later. Thankfully, there have been many advancements made within art history research, with science helping us to learn more about the secrets of these exciting artworks. There has also been a greater spread of knowledge which has helped a more complete picture to be put together within a number of recent publications on artists from the Early Renaissance. Similar research has also been carried out into the careers of other related painters and sculptors such as Masaccio, Giotto di Bondone and also Cimabue.

Predellas were a popular format during the Renaissance in which large artworks would be complemented with a series of smaller paintings which would be tiled across just below. Normally they would follow the same theme, such as different scenes from an individual's life and also would relate to the topic of the main panel. Fra Angelico has been confirmed as being behind all of these artworks, but he may have made use of an assistant in order to actually paint them, though this has never been confirmed. He would develop a studio in order to take on more work but would oversee all production, normally completing any important parts with his own hand in order to avoid his reputation being negatively impacted.