Recognition of the Body of Sant'Antonino

This fresco is located in the vestibule of the Salviati Chapel in the church of San Marco in Florence.

The Salviati family had been linked by marriage to the Medici (Pope Leo XI was the son of Francesca Salviati, the daughter of Giacomo Salviati and Lucrezia de’ Medici). The Salviati family chapel centred on the sepulchre of the Florentine archbishop Antonino Pierozzi (Saint Antoninus); a bronze effigy topped the ark that contained his remains. Each of the three walls feature a large painting; flanking these were marble figures of saints that had ties to the patrons, the church, and the city, and above each of the marble figures was a corresponding bronze relief showing an episode from St Antoninus’s life. The images set into the dome filled in further elements from the bishop’s biography.

Giambologna was the architect and the sculptor of the statues, furthermore, he oversaw the execution of the work by other artists. On the back wall, a canvas by Alessandro Allori depicts Christ in Limbo, while on the left and right walls Christ Healing the Leper by Francesco Morandini and Calling of Matthew by Giovan Battista Naldini, respectively, can be seen. The walls of the vestibule was decorated in fresco by Domenico Passignano following the completion of the chapel proper. The dome of the chapel is by Bernardino Poccetti. The chapel was completed in May 1589.