Hl. Apollonia

Arranged in pairs one above the other, the four panels originally flanked the main picture, now lost, on the high altar of Sant’Apollonia in Florence in the sixteenth century that was made according to designs by Michelangelo. Granacci knew Michelangelo from the time of their apprenticeship together in Ghirlandaio’s workshop and remained a friend of his all his life. John the Baptist and Apollonia appear as patron saints of the city and the convent. Jerome is known for encouraging a number of women to enter a convent, and Mary Magdalene complements the iconographic programme as the ambassador of the Resurrection.