(Florence, documented 1445–1481)
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Francis,
tempera on gold ground panel, 44.5 x 35.5, unframed

Provenance:
Private collection, Florence, 1808;
Charles Albert Waltner (1846–1925), Paris, acquired in Italy between 1869 and 1872;
Private collection, Paris, 1956;
Private collection, Switzerland

Domenico di Zanobi, the Master of the Johnson Nativity was a pupil of Filippo Lippi, whom he served as an assistant in the execution of the frescoes for the Duomo di Prato; he is also known to have collaborated with Domenico di Michelino. 

The present composition derives from examples by Filippo Lippi, and this is especially evident in the type and pose of the Madonna and the elegantly drawn outlines of the figures. The sumptuously decorated fabric upon which the Christ Child stands, and the richly ornamented gold back ground recall the work of Fra Angelico. This work can be compared to the Madonna and Child at Upton House, Warwickshire (National Trust) and the panel at the centre of the large altarpiece executed around 1476 for the Chellini family, for the church of Santa Maria del Fortino in San Miniato and now in the Museo della Misericordia in San Miniato.