The Annalena Altarpiece by Fra Angelico in Museo Nazionale di San Marco is one of the earliest Sacred Conversation pieces in Florence. It comes from the Convent of San Vincenzo d’Annalena Malatesta (whence its name) and it features various saints including Saint physicians Cosmas and Damian (second and third from the left).
![The Annalena altarpiece [main] 01.jpg](/wp-content/uploads/the-annalena-altarpiece-1430s-by-fra-angelico/The%20Annalena%20altarpiece%20%5Bmain%5D%2001.jpg)
The six smaller paintings below the main one feature various events that took place in the lives of Cosmas and Damian. A seventh and very famous one (The Healing of the Deacon Justinian) is missing here, because it is preserved in Zurich Kunsthaus.
The Healing of Palladia by St. Cosmas and St. Damian
St. Cosmas and St. Damian before Lysias
St. Cosmas and St. Damian saved from Drowning
St. Cosmas and St. Damian survive the Stake
The Crucifixion and Stoning of St. Cosmas and St. Damian
The Beheading of St. Cosmas and St. Damian
The missing piece
- Photos by Luca Borghi @ (August 2023) and page layout by Aksa Shaju Mumtaz (November 2023)
- Locate the item on this Google Map