Standard with images of Saint Agatha on both sides used in the procession of the Cathedral canons. The image on front is by the Saint Agatha Master (circa 1275), while the image on the back is by Jacopo del Casentino (first half of the 14th century). In medieval Florence the canons of the Cathedral led a procession across the city to the Cathedral every 5th February, Saint Agatha’s feast day. Here a solemn Mass was held at the altar of the Cross, where the relics of the saint lay. The standard was the subject of popular devotion, because it was believed to ensure protection against fire. Originally painted only on the front, Jacopo del Casentino was commissioned to paint another image of Saint Agatha on the back in around 1320. Although he based his painting on the original, executed roughly fifty years earlier by the Maestro di Sant'Agata in Byzantine style, del Casentino’s training under Giotto can be clearly seen in the greater sweetness of the saint’s face and its greater plasticity and expressiveness.