madonna in trono, santi e due devoti

Amico Aspertini painted this Madonna Enthroned with Saints and Two Donors around 1504 for the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna. Despite his eccentric personality, Aspertini received major altarpiece commissions in Bologna, demonstrating the city's appreciation for his dynamic and original approach to religious painting. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The altarpiece combines the standard sacra conversazione format with Aspertini's distinctive expressive distortions and energetic figure drawing, creating a devotional image of unusual vitality and psychological intensity.