In this artwork, how is the History discussed?
The painting was commissioned to Perugino in 1497 for the high altar of the Vallombrosa Abbey, by Don Biagio Milanesi, Father General of the Order of the Vallombrosan friars.
It was finished in July 1500. Between the beginning of 1495 and the end of 1500, the Perugino workshop was engaged in manufacturing several large works on panel. Art historian G. C. Williamson calls it "one of the finest that Perugino ever produced".The work was originally completed by a predella, of which only two portraits remain (Biagio Milanesi, the then-abbot, and of the monk Baldassarre); both works are now at the Uffizi Gallery.
After the Napoleonic invasion of Italy and the suppression of the abbey, the canvas was moved to Paris in 1810. However, it was restored to Tuscany in 1817, being assigned to the Florentine gallery in this occasion.
Uffizi Italy Vallombrosa Abbey Uffizi Gallery Vallombrosan friars predella G. C. Williamson Napoleonic invasion of Italy