Bernardino Licinio, 'The Madonna and Child with Saints', about 1510-30

The Virgin Mary sits outdoors on a stone parapet, holding the naked Christ Child on her knee and gazing dreamily into our space. Saint Joseph kneels beside her and looks down thoughtfully at the baby’s tiny foot in his hand. The infant Christ clings on to Joseph’s staff and turns to look back at us over his shoulder. He appears to be raising two fingers of his right hand to bless Joseph. We do not know the identity of the female saint kneeling at the left, who holds a martyr’s palm and red banner. It is unusual for the Virgin’s dress to be predominantly red rather than the more traditional blue, and the predominance of red in the painting may relate to the circumstances of its commission. The figures dominate the composition leaving almost no room for any landscape background other than an expanse of cloudy sky.

This type of image, in which the holy family and saints are depicted together in an informal grouping on a single panel is known as a sacra conversazione – literally a ‘sacred conversation’. Although the figures are not speaking, the term implies a psychological connection between them. Horizontal format paintings of the holy family and saints in a landscape are particularly associated with early sixteenth-century Venice, where they were developed and popularised by Giovanni Bellini and his followers. The way in which the translucent veil has been painted draped over the Virgin’s shoulder is a motif also found in the work of Titian. Although from Bergamo, Bernardino Licinio worked mainly in Venice and the surrounding islands. There are several other surviving paintings of this type by him, including one in the Uffizi, Florence.

Narrow strips of wood have been added later to the top and bottom of the panel and are now clearly visible. The varnish has darkened and the painting is in need of repair; there are two large cracks running horizontally across the panel.