Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Panel from the Humility Polyptych - The translation of the body of Humility on 6 June 1311
  • Creator: Lorenzetti, Pietro, painter, attributed to
  • Description: Umiltà of Faenza (born Rosanese Negusanti) was an abbess and holy woman. In Florence, she founded the Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista, a Vallombrosian house for women. This is one of the fourteen panels of the Humility Polyptych, which was constructed to celebrate Umiltà’s life and miracles. This panel shows the translation of Umiltà’s body after her death. The composition of this scene is believed to have been painted as if from the point of view of the nun’s choir. The importance of physical contact with the holy body and tomb of the saint is emphasized in this scene. In front of Umiltà is a large group of lay women who are eager to make contact with the newly exhumed body of the saint because the majority of the people for whom Umiltà performed miracles during her lifetime were women. Surrounding Umiltà’s corpse from behind are a group of monks and members of the clergy including the Bishop of Florence, who is presiding over the translation of her body. Even further in the background is a group of monks inspecting her tomb for traces of burial oil sweating from the marble slab which was believed to be the mark of a true saint.
  • Source: Umilta Website
  • Rights: Reproduced with permission
  • Subject (See Also): Abbesses Burials Commemoration Hagiography Miracles Monasticism Umilta of Faenza, Mystic and Saint Women in Religion
  • Geographic Area: Italy
  • Century: 14
  • Date: 1335-1340
  • Related Work: Humility Polyptych. See a reconstruction of the polyptych on the Feminae website.
  • Current Location: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
  • Original Location: Florence, Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista, a Vallombrosan house for women founded by Umiltà
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Paintings
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Polyptych; Wood panel
  • Donor: Lay woman? [Cordelia Warr in her article cited above suggests the kneeling donor figure in the polyptych is a lay woman based on her clothing, pp. 296-297.]
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): 45 cm/37 cm/
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: Cordelia Warr, “Viewing and commissioning Pietro Lorenzetti’s Saint Humility Polyptych,” Journal of Medieval History 26, 3 (2000), Janet G. Smith, "Santa Umilta of Faenza: Her Florentine Convent and Its Art", Visions of Holiness: Art and Devotion in Renaissance Italy, [Athens, GA], Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 2001