The Madonna and Child enthroned with Saints

Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo painted this Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints around 1517 for the National Gallery. Garofalo was by this date the leading painter of Ferrara, his synthesis of local tradition with Raphael's influence establishing the standard for Ferrarese religious painting in the sixteenth century. 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 demonstrates Garofalo's mature style combining Ferrarese precision with Raphaelesque warmth and compositional grace, presenting the saints in a harmonious arrangement around the enthroned Virgin.