Madonna and Child between Saint Jerome and Saint Peter – Musée Condé – Chantilly
The panel, dating to about 1490, was realized in collaboration with Andrea D’Assisi, called L’Ingegno, who according to Vasari was the best student of Perugino.
The main subject of the work is a Sacred Conversation. The Madonna, seated on a throne of complex architecture, is depicted in the centre: in fact, the seat ends in a niche surmounted by a semi-dome structured like an open shell, and grafted onto a parapet decorated with festoons; the wall continues on the sides and forms the background of the scene.
The Virgin, elegantly dressed and with a complex hairstyle, looks at the viewer, while the Child, gently supported on her knees, raises his right hand as a sign of blessing.
On the sides two saints attend the scene: on the left Jerome, dressed in the red cardinal’s robe and accompanied by the lion, looks at the central group of the Madonna and Child while on the right Peter, instead facing the viewer, holds a book and the keys to Paradise.
The composition is wisely constructed, and is rhythmically punctuated by the correspondences between poses and gestures of the characters.
The work is preserved at the Musée Condé in Chantilly.
