Madonna mit Kind, Saints Francis and Bernard

Madonna mit Kind, Saints Francis and Bernard, at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, shows the Virgin and Child with two saints—Francis, the Franciscan order's founder, and Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian mystic whose spiritual writings influenced Franciscan devotion—in a devotional grouping that reflects the specific institutional context for which the altarpiece was made. Alvise Vivarini painted this around 1485 for a Franciscan or related patronage context, the choice of saints signaling the intended viewers' devotional affiliations.

The Madonna and Child occupy the central devotional position, with Francis and Bernard flanking them in the relaxed arrangement that Bellini's sacra conversazione format made available. Alvise distinguishes the two saints clearly through their habits—Francis's brown Franciscan robe and Bernard's white Cistercian habit—while unifying them within the same warm light as the central figures.