The present painting follows Santi di Tito's famous altarpieces for the church of Santa Croce, Florence. Executed circa 1573-4, this was the first of five altarpieces by the artist for the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, projects begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1565. The Resurrection was Santi di Tito's most prestigious commission to this date. In designing this work he followed the format of two recently installed Resurrections by Bronzino (in SS Annunziata of 1552), and Vasari (in Santa Maria Novella of 1568) refining their compositions and placing a greater emphasis on the narrative (see J. Spalding, Santi di Tito, 1982, no. 15, pp. 305-6, fig. 35).