The Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius, also known as Castelfranco Madonna (c. 1503) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giorgione. It is housed in La Pala of the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto, Giorgione's native city, in Veneto, northern Italy.
The picture, a typical sacra conversazione, shows the Madonna enthroned with the Child with St. Francis and, on the left, St. Nicasius. The latter, an armored figure, ha...
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The Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius, also known as Castelfranco Madonna (c. 1503) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giorgione. It is housed in La Pala of the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto, Giorgione's native city, in Veneto, northern Italy.
The picture, a typical sacra conversazione, shows the Madonna enthroned with the Child with St. Francis and, on the left, St. Nicasius. The latter, an armored figure, has also been identified as the fighting saint St. George or St. Liberalis, patron of Castelfranco. Tuzio was a member of the Knights of Rhodes, whose ensign is borne by St. Nicasius (a martyred saint who had also belonged to the Hospitallier order).
The traditional scheme of composition is lightened by the novel use of such elements as the throne and the landscape, which takes up a good portion of the background. Noteworthy is also the absence of any reference to ecclesiastical elements of architecture.
The technique of painting is an example...
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