Madonna between six angels and two saints

Madonna between six angels and two saints, painted around 1444 and held at the Condé Museum in Chantilly, belongs to Pesellino's early career—the period before his mature association with Filippo Lippi's workshop. The assembled hierarchical image of the Virgin flanked by angels and saints was among the most traditional altarpiece formats in Italian painting, and Pesellino's interpretation at this early date shows his debt to earlier Florentine models while also demonstrating the personal refinement that would characterise his later work.

The hierarchical arrangement—Virgin at centre, angels framing her, saints at the outer edges—reflects the formal conventions of the sacra conversazione format. Pesellino uses gold leaf for halos and background elements while differentiating the figures through varied drapery colours and individual physiognomies.