Totila before Saint Benedict

Art Historical Context

Step into the vivid world of 15th-century Florence with *Totila before Saint Benedict*, masterful tempera on wood panel by Benoz Gozzoli (c. 1420–1497). This intimate 15½ × 18-inch painting captures a pivotal encounter: the Ostrogoth king Totila, surrounded by soldiers, humbly approaches Saint Benedict, the revered founder of Western monasticism amid monks and attendants. Gozzoli, a leading Early Renaissance artist trained under Fra Angelico, infuses scene with his signature narrative flair, blending historical drama with spiritual reverence. The subject draws from Saint Gregory the Great's *...