Beheading of Saint James the Great: Predella Panel

This painting forms part of the predella, or base of the Santa Trinità Altarpiece. The scene here shows the Beheading of James the Great. Other scenes from the predella include Mamas in Prison thrown to the Lions; Zeno exorcising the daughter of the Emperor Gallienus; and Jerome and the Lion. The predella was probably painted by Lippi and his workshop in Prato, between 1458 and 1460.

A fifth predella panel showing the vision of Saint Augustine while pondering the mystery of the Trinity has recently been identified as belonging to the altarpiece in the Hermitage, St Petersburg.