Introduzione

The tightly swaddled baby Augustine is being handed to his mother Saint Monica, in the setting of a richly furnished chamber with a coffered ceiling. Monica sits upright in a bed surrounded by chests, resembling those described in contemporary sources.

This panel has been linked to a series of pictures with scenes from the lives of Monica and Augustine, one of the Doctors of the Church. Vivarini is known to have painted an altarpiece dedicated to Monica for the Venetian church of San Stefano. (Permanent collection label)