Polittico di Sansepolcro (detail) 1444

This detail from Il Sassetta's "Polittico di Sansepolcro" depicts a scene from the life of Saint Anthony of Padua. Painted in 1444, it shows Saint Anthony calming a donkey with his preaching, a miracle that cemented his reputation for extraordinary powers. The scene's realism and attention to detail are characteristic of Sassetta's work, a key figure in the Sienese Renaissance. The painting, housed within a golden frame, features a complex composition, blending the sacred and secular with a touch of the fantastical, as seen in the flock of birds flying in the sky.