Ryan Carter, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
It is thought that Ottaviano Nelli was commissioned to paint this piece around the late 1300s to early 1400s for an unknown patron. Not long afterwards, Nelli was entrusted by the Lord of Foligno, Corrado de’ Trinici, with the task of adorning the walls of his family chapel. Trinici was once a fierce enemy of the pope yet had a change of heart when he received the title Vicar of Foligno by Pope Martin V. One of the largest cities in Umbria, Foligno sits on the Topino River where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. During the 1400s, much of Italy was divided into different and independent city-states. Nelli operated mainly in Umbria and its surrounding towns, and while the popular and revolutionary ideas of the Renaissance were disseminated across Italy, Nelli’s work showed no sign of its influence.
