In his Le Vite, Giorgio Vasari mentions the work in a transept chapel of the church of San Francesco in Pisa.

Jean Baptise Henraux took it, due to the interest of Dominique Vivant Denon, who was particularly passionate about "primitive" Italian paintings.

The scene was innovative as it abandoned the Italo-Byzantine tradition of inexpressive figures as the center of paintings in favor of a moment of action as the principal subject (compare the works of Bonaventura Berlinghieri and the Master of San Francesco Bardi, or Giotto's own Badia Polyptych).

The predella shows three scenes from the saint's life: The Dream of Pope Innocent III, The Approval of the Franciscan Rule, and The Sermon to the Birds.

In general, the style of the scenes shows greater Gothic elegance than the three stories of the Fransciscan cycle in Giotto's Assisi frescoes and serves as a point of comparison to Giottesque artists such as the Master of St Cecilia.