The Virgin with Child and Sts Francis and Jerome

Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio painted this Virgin with Child and Saints Francis and Jerome around 1511 for the Hermitage Museum. Ridolfo maintained his father Domenico Ghirlandaio's workshop tradition while absorbing influences from Fra Bartolomeo and Raphael, producing reliable altarpieces for Florentine churches. 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 sacra conversazione demonstrates Ridolfo's solid Florentine draftsmanship and warm coloring, with a balanced composition reflecting both his father's workshop tradition and newer High Renaissance influences.