Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Panel from the Humility Polyptych - Umilta dictates her sermons
  • 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. On this panel, Umiltà is depicted as an educator as she dictates her sermons to fellow nuns within her monastery. The image of Umiltà as a preacher was controversial because women delivering sermons was a topic of contention in the fourteenth century. However, the hint of subversion this scene implies is mediated by the fact that Umiltà is preaching to fellow nuns in a cloistered setting, rather than speaking in public. Furthermore, the dove of peace can faintly be seen at Umiltà’s ear, as if whispering instruction to her while she is speaking. The presence of the dove symbolizes her connection with God and proposes that her preaching was influenced and supported by divine forces.
  • Source: Umilta Website
  • Rights: Reproduced with permission
  • Subject (See Also): Abbesses Education Hagiography Monasticism Preaching Sermons Umilta of Faenza, Mystic and Saint Women in Religion Writing
  • 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