Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria

Cima's Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Catherine (1515) is a late work showing his style in its final development — the figures somewhat fuller and more monumental than his earlier treatments, reflecting the influence of the High Renaissance painters who had transformed Venetian art during his career. Cima had lived through the revolution in Italian painting represented by Giorgione and the early Titian, and his late works show a gradual absorption of the newer approaches to figure and landscape without abandoning the fundamental devotional clarity that had sustained his career. The Baptist and Catherine were among the most popular companion saints for Marian altarpieces throughout Italy.

The late handling shows Cima working with the broader, more atmospheric manner that characterized Venetian painting in the early sixteenth century. The warm light and gentle transitions of tone create a mood of serene contemplation characteristic of his developed devotional style.