Calling of Sts Peter and Andrew
by MATTEO di Giovanni, Tempera with oil and gold on panel, 29 x 33 cm
This painting shows Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, urging two fishermen, the brothers Peter and Andrew, to become his disciples. Jesus leans forward to help Peter out of the boat, while Andrew casts his net aside, symbolically leaving his old life behind. This panel was once part of a predella, a sequence of small paintings situated beneath the main scenes of an altarpiece.