Madonna and Child with Saints Francis, Bartholomew, Barnabas and Catherine of Alexandria

We found ourselves in front of a refined polyptych, that is an altarpiece composed of five compartments, which was painted by Bernardo Daddi in 1334 for the Church of Saint Barnabas within the complex of the ancient Spedale della Misericordia di Prato (the Hospital of Mercy) at the request of the rector Francesco Tieri.
It is a tempera and gold artwork on a panel which is 128 centimetres high by 220 centimetres long. The compartments are enclosed by gilded, cupped and carved frames decorated with curls and pinnacles.
At the centre of the polyptych, in the frame slightly higher than the others, we find the Virgin Mary, calm yet thoughtful, who supports her Son. The latter pulls back her veil, recalling a prefiguration of Christ's shroud. On the Giotto model, the Virgin and the other saints are depicted in half-figures. Only the Virgin Mary is depicted in frontal view, while the saints slightly rotate the torso toward her.
In the first compartment on the left we find St Francis who, while facing the Virgin and with his arms crossed on his chest, looks upwards in emotional prayer. The other saints who flank them, on the other hand, show an intimate peace and serenity. Next to Saint Francis, we find Saint Bartholomew, depicted, as the iconographic tradition dictates, with a knife and a book in the other hand. Next to the Virgin Mary, St Barnabas is represented, with an olive branch. In the last compartment, at the right end of the polyptych, is depicted Saint Catherine of Alexandria. With a crown on her head and a red royal dress, she raised her palm of martyrdom while holding a book in the other hand. 
All the figures show a strong sense of the Giotto influence, softened however by delicate colour relationships and refined decorations on the garments and the completely golden background. This is a symbol of a Paradise in which human suffering and passions cease to exist.
In the wake of this significant assignment, Bernardo Daddi was commissioned, a few years later, to create an imposing polyptych for the Pieve di Santo Stefano, where the predella depicting the Stories of the Sacred Girdle is preserved.