Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Clare

The Virgin and Child sit enthroned between Saints Francis and Clare, their golden haloes glowing against a soft landscape. Cima da Conegliano was the most serene of the Venetian Renaissance painters, a contemporary of Giovanni Bellini whose small devotional panels are prized for their calm symmetry and clear, jewel-like colour. This little panel from about 1510 pairs the tenderness of the mother and child with the quiet authority of the two Franciscan saints.