Giotto was the most famous artist of his day, praised by Dante and considered by his successors to have revived the art of painting after centuries of decline.
This panel is part of a series of scenes from the life of Christ, of which six others are known.
They may come from one of the four altarpieces by Giotto recorded in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce in Florence.
The way in which the figures move freely within a carefully described space is close to that of frescoes painted by the artist in ~1320 for the same church.
