The four large marble sculptures, now aligned along the wall, once adorned the loggias on the third level of the medieval façade of the Cathedral. They are traditionally identified as the four Doctors of the Church – Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory. Documents confirm that they were created between 1395 and 1401 based on a design by Agnolo Gaddi, with the execution entrusted to Niccolò di Pietro Lamberti (author of Saints Jerome and Ambrose) and Pietro di Giovanni Tedesco (author of Saints Augustine and Gregory). However, their current state of preservation makes both the attribution of the sculptors and the identification of the figures uncertain.

After the demolition of the façade in 1587, the statues were altered to fit a new context: transformed into figures of poets or philosophers, with laurel wreaths and books in their hands, they were repurposed as decorations for gardens and private villas. At an unspecified time, they were placed along the avenue of the Villa Medicea di Poggio Imperiale and, in the early twentieth century, transferred to the Museum.

The four saints, who lived in different times and places during the early centuries of Christianity, were the first to receive the title of Doctors of the Church, a designation reserved for those whose writings and teachings made a fundamental contribution to the understanding and dissemination of the Christian faith. This recognition was granted in 1298, two years after construction began on the new Cathedral, by Pope Boniface VIII, a strong supporter of the project. His portrait originally adorned the same façade, at the same level as these sculptures, though it is now located on the opposite wall.