This is probably the central part of a predella of an altarpiece showing scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist.

The Art Fund gave a grant to four panels from the same predella: the other three are 'The Birth of Saint John the Baptist', 'Saint John the Baptist retiring to the Desert' and 'The Head of John the Baptist brought to Herod'. The panels have been associated with an altarpiece dated 1454 of the 'Virgin and Child with Saints' (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art) which includes Saint John the Baptist.

Provenance

From the collections of Charles Bulter and subsequently J.Pierpont Morgan.


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