Madonna of Mercy and Saints Sebastian and Bernardino da Siena

Luca Signorelli's Madonna of Mercy with Saints Sebastian and Bernardino da Siena, painted around 1490 and now in the Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, is a devotional altarpiece combining the protective Madonna della Misericordia type with two important intercessory saints. Saint Sebastian, protector against plague, and Saint Bernardino, the Franciscan preacher canonized in 1450, were especially venerated in the towns of central Italy where Signorelli worked extensively.

Signorelli renders the protective Madonna sheltering the faithful under her mantle with his characteristic powerful figure modeling, combining the monumental tradition of the Misericordia type with his muscular anatomical precision.