Italian artist, first documented in 1271 in Volterra and later in Florence. He was identified as the author of a small group of paintings formerly attributed to an anonymous artist known as the Master of San Gaggio from his Madonna and Four Saints in the Accademia, Florence, which originates from the Florentine church of San Gaggio.
The artist appears to have been close to both Cimabue and Giotto and may have trained under the Magdelen Master.
The central part of this unusual tabernacle triptych depicts the Death of St Ephraim of Syria (died 373) with scenes from the lives of the Thebaid saints (early hermits living in the Egyptian desert, including St Jerome, St Anthony Abbot, and St John the Recluse. In the gable above there is Christ the Redeemer blessing with six angels. In the wings six scenes from the Passion of Christ are depicted, at left: Mourning Angels, the Crucifixion, and the Three Maries at the Tomb, at right: the Flagellation, the Mocking of Christ and the Descent into Limbo.
The central panel is focused on the death of St Ephraim of Syria, with St Gregory of Nycea reading the funeral service, and with other saints and desert hermits either traveling to the funeral, shown at the bottom, or witnessing the vision of four angels carrying his soul to heaven, shown at the very top.
This panel comes from the mature period of Grifo di Tancredi. Noteworthy is the decoration of the structure of the throne with Cosmati-style motifs.
