New miniatures by Pacino di Bonaguida in Cambridge

A consideration of four newly discovered miniatures from the Laudario made around 1340 for the Compagnia di Santa Agnese at the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Italy. One of the last great projects of the prolific and influential artist Pacino di Bonaguida, this work was one of the most opulent Florentine manuscripts of the 14th century. It is now in fragments, two of which have long been known to be in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. To these can now be added a further miniature, donated to the museum in 1904, and previously unidentified; and three more discovered recently in Queen's College, Cambridge. All four new discoveries share numerous features with the known Laudario pieces, and are identifiable as the work of Pacino di Bonaguida by dint of their distinctive palette, and their “legible” compositions, blending the drama of the pictorial narrative with the aura of devotional images.