Saint Zenobius Resuscitating a Dead Child

Art Historical Context

Behold *Saint Zenobius Resitating a Dead Child*, captivating tempera on wood panel by the Italian Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli (1420–1497). Measuring just 15½ x 18 inches, this intimate work captures a pivotal miracle attributed to Saint Zenobius the 5th-century bishop of Florence and city's patron saint. In the scene, the saint revives a lifeless child before a gathered crowd of men, women, and mourners, embodying themes of faith, resurrection, divine intervention that resonated deeply in 15th-century Tuscany. Gozzoli, a pupil of Fra Angelico, blended Gothic elegance with emerging Renaissance naturalism in his vivid storytelling. His tempera technique—using egg yolk as a binder—yields luminous colors and exquisite details, from the child's pale form to the expressive faces conveying shock and joy. Likely part of a larger altarpiece predella, it reflects the Florentine devotion to local saints amid the era's religious fervor and humanist curiosity about the human body and emotion. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Rogers Fund in 1915, this panel invites us to ponder life's fragility and the power of belief, much as it did for Renaissance worshippers. A testament to Gozzoli's narrative flair, it bridges medieval piety and Renaissance innovation.