The Emergence of a Florentine Visionary Francesco di Simone da Santacroce remains one of the more enigmatic figures of the Early Renaissance, a painter whose life was as much defined by the shadows of historical uncertainty as by the luminous clarity of his religious compositions. Born around 1440 in the quiet landscape of Santa Croce del Fulvio, his journey into the heart of Italian art began within the prestigious workshop of Giovan…