Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist

The Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist in the Peruzzi Chapel occupies the middle register of the Baptist cycle and combines two consecutive episodes within a single painted field: the saint's birth and the naming of the child by Zacharias. Giotto links both moments through one domestic architectural setting, allowing separate events to read as parts of a continuous narrative.

At the right, Elizabeth reclines after childbirth while several women attend to her. One holds the newborn child, while others carry out tasks associated with an affluent household. The sacred episode is thus expressed through carefully observed everyday actions that bring the biblical story close to ordinary human experience. Elizabeth retains the monumental bodily presence characteristic of Giotto, but the domestic environment introduces a new intimacy.