Madonna and child with Sts Francis of Assisi and Bernardino of Siena

Saints Francis of Assisi and Bernardino of Siena flank the Madonna and Child in this panel, demonstrating the close Franciscan devotional context of much of Sano di Pietro's mature production. After Bernardino's canonization in 1450, the Sienese Franciscan was immediately paired with his spiritual founder Francis as the two great Franciscan saints of Italian civic life. Sano had been the primary visual interpreter of Bernardino's cult from the saint's death in 1444, painting extensive narrative cycles of his miracles. This pairing of old and new Franciscan sanctity—Francis with stigmata, Bernardino with the IHS sun-disk monogram he popularized—defined a specifically Sienese Franciscan visual program.

The two Franciscan saints in their brown habits create a sober frame for the richly colored Madonna, the contrast between Franciscan simplicity and Marian splendor carrying theological meaning. Sano renders the brown habits with careful attention to the coarse texture of Franciscan wool, contrasting with the fine blue of the Madonna"s mantle. The gold ground and tooled halos provide the characteristic luminous quality of Sienese devotional painting.