Stefaneschi Triptych

Commissioned by Cardinal Giacomo Stefaneschi for the high altar of Old St Peter's, this gilded triptych works on two fronts. The obverse centers on Saint Peter enthroned, monumental and calm, with the donor kneeling in cardinal red; side panels show saints in measured ranks. The reverse narrates the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, set in clear space with Giotto's newly solid bodies. Punch-tooled haloes glitter, but the weight of the figures and the quiet gravity of their faces carry the meaning. Between c. 1320 and 1330, the altarpiece turned theology into presence—saints who look like they truly stand there.