Madonna and Child with Saints Michael and John the Baptist; The Noli Me Tangere; The Conversion of Saint Paul

Inscription: Inscribed: (upper right, on Saint John's scroll) Ec[c]e ag[nu]s dei. Ecce / qui tollit pecc[atum mundi]. (Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. [John 1:29]); (lower right, on Christ's scroll) [Sau]le qu[i]d me / persequeris [?] (Saul, why persecutest thou me? [Acts 9:4]); (bottom right) . . . / . . . girenus qu . . . / . . . / . . . et . . . / ingre . . . / quid . . .

Roland Robert, Toulouse (sold to Linsky); Mr. and Mrs. Jack Linsky, New York (by 1954–his d. 1980); Mrs. Jack Linsky, New York (1980–82)

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT, BY TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION BY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.

Miklós Boskovits. Letter to Keith Christiansen. March 19, 1983, acknowledges similarities between this painting and the work of the Master of the Carità, but suggests that the picture may be more closely related to the "Ugolino Lorenzetti" group.

Erling Skaug. Letter to Keith Christiansen. September 2, 1983, based on the punch marks, calls it definitely Pisan, relates it to the workshop of Francesco Traini, and believes it belongs to the early phase.

Erling Skaug. Letter to Keith Christiansen. September 21, 1983, after closer examination, questions his earlier identification of one of the punches as Traini's.

Keith Christiansen in The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, pp. 22–24, no. 2, ill., calls it the left side of a portable diptych; notes that the poor condition of the painting prevents a definite attribution, but finds the colors and patterns typical of Pisan painting; notes similarities to the work of Francesco Traini and the Master of the Carità.

Erling Skaug. Letter to Keith Christiansen. April 24, 1984, still believes that the punch work is "distinctly Trainiesque" and also wonders if the artist might be "a Sienese painter operating as a free-lancer in a Pisan shop".

Joseph Polzer. Letter to Keith Christiansen. June 7, 1989, calls it definitely Pisan, identifies some punches as from Traini's workshop, and suggests an attribution to the Master of the Carità, dating it to the 1350s.

Luciano Bellosi. Letter to Everett Fahy. June 22, 1992, believes it is more likely to be Sienese than Pisan.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 5, ill.

Maria Laura Testi Cristiani. "Francesco Traini, i 'Chompagni' di Simone Martini a Pisa e la Madonna 'Linsky,' con Bambino Santi e Storiette, del Metropolitan Museum." Critica d'arte 64 (March 2001), pp. 21–23, 33–38, 40–45, ill. (overall in color, details in black and white), attributes it to Francesco Traini with some workshop assistance; states that further examination reveals that it may have been part of a triptych, not a diptych.

Linda Pisani. Francesco Traini e la pittura a Pisa nella prima metà del Trecento. Cinisello Balsamo, Milan, 2020, pp. 96–98, 151 n. 294, figs. 106–7 (color, overall and detail), attributes it to Bartolomeo Bulgarini, as suggested to her by Andrea de Marchi.

This work may not be lent, by terms of its acquisition by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.