A bright procession of revellers escorts a thirteenth-century altarpiece, the Rucellai Madonna, through the streets of Florence towards its final destination in the chuch of Santa Maria Novella. Cimabue, dressed in white, leads Giotto - his most famous pupil - by the hand. For the young Frederic Leighton this episode, based on Vasari's account of the life of Cimabue, symbolised how great art during the Renaissance was appreciated by people from all levels in society, together with the high esteem in which artists were held.

Cat. 132