This important triptych, painted in the first half of the 14th century by an anonymous Florentine artist, originally adorned the altar of an unidentified private chapel once located within the Cathedral. The painting depicts the most important and venerated saints of the Florentine Church.
Saint John the Baptist is depicted with an emaciated appearance and a camel pelt, referring to his time as a hermit in the desert (into which his figure is set), a scarlet mantle alluding to his martyrdom, the processional cross as a symbol of his proclamation of Christ’s coming, and a scroll bearing a verse from the prophet Isaiah (20:3), interpreted in the Gospel of Mark (1:3) as a prophecy of his mission: “A voice cries out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”
To his right is Saint Zenobius, the first bishop of Florence, who lived between the fourth and fifth centuries and whose relics are preserved in the Cathedral. He is portrayed in solemn episcopal vestments: mitre, cope, and gloves; he holds a crozier in his left hand and blesses with his right.
On the other side stands Saint Reparata, an Eastern martyr to whom, according to tradition, Zenobius dedicated the ancient cathedral in gratitude for her intercession in securing Florence’s victory over the Ostrogoths in 405 A.D. She wears a wide red mantle, symbolizing her martyr’s blood, and holds lilies, emblematic of her virginal purity and at the same time an allusion to the emblem of the city of Florence.