Santi di Tito, Sacred Conversation, 1560-70 ca.

The painting shows the virgin Mary sat on a throne with Jesus child, two praying angels and the saints Nicholas of Tolentino, Augustine, Luke the Evangelist and Monica, under an elegant canopy. The artwork could be recognized as a preparatory sketch for a large altarpiece, still unknown today. As proof of this, the measures of the panel intervene, not suitable for an altarpiece in a church or even for a small chapel in a private residence; the painting, which in some points, such as the two angels on either side of the Virgin and Child or in Saint Luke the Evangelist, is deliberately left in the draft; and, finally, for the presence of evident “pentimenti”. In this regard, the left arm of the holy bishop, initially thought closer to the right one, and the right hand of the saint can be noted. Although the artwork is a sketch, some details of great pictorial refinement can be seen, demonstrating the painter’s quality and the importance that these objects had compared to the final work: the gold finishes, for example in the San Nicola da Tolentino, in the the little angel’s loincloth at the top left and in the globe held by the Child, enrich the preciousness of the composition. The somatic features of the figures are outlined in the tip of the brush, while the robes are constructed through a more vigorous and less rigorous brushstroke, further demonstrating how the work was not to be considered independent. In this regard, note the cope of the holy bishop, in which figurative decorations – saints or apostles – and a decoration in imitation of velvet can be seen, executed with a quick brushstroke that effectively traces only the general profile.