The Virgin and Child with Saints

Also from 1499 and in the National Gallery, this Virgin and Child with Saints belongs to Costa's late Bolognese period when his handling of the sacra conversazione format had reached its most assured form. Saints flanking the central Madonna follow a compositional logic inherited from Ferrara but shaped by Costa's own preference for psychological restraint and measured stillness. Altarpieces of this type served as devotional focal points for church chapels and confraternity spaces, the assembled saints functioning as intercessors for the donors who had funded the commission.

The saints are positioned to create a visual conversation across the picture plane. Costa uses slight variations in pose — a turned head, a downcast glance — to avoid monotony within the symmetrical format. Each fabric type is given a distinct surface texture.