Virgin and Child with St Bernardino and St Catherine of Siena

Neroccio di Bartolomeo de' Landi, one of Siena's most refined painters, created this Virgin and Child with Saints Bernardino and Catherine of Siena around 1495. Neroccio's elegantly attenuated figures and delicate coloring represent the quintessence of late Sienese aesthetic refinement. Both flanking saints were local Sienese figures, reflecting civic as well as religious devotion. This work belongs to the High Renaissance, when the innovations of the preceding century were synthesized into works of monumental clarity and ideal beauty.

Tempera on panel with Neroccio's characteristic elongated figure proportions and exquisitely refined surface treatment. The delicate coloring and graceful linear rhythms epitomize the Sienese decorative tradition.