Madonna and Child with Saints Francis, Damian, Cosmas and Anthony of Padua

This sacra conversazione by Filippo Lippi, painted around 1445 for a Florentine church, shows the Madonna and Child flanked by Saints Francis, Damian, Cosmas, and Anthony of Padua. The inclusion of Saints Cosmas and Damian, patron saints of the Medici family, strongly suggests Medici patronage. The painting exemplifies the development of the unified sacra conversazione format that replaced the older polyptych arrangement in Florentine altarpieces.

Lippi employs a harmonious spatial arrangement with his characteristic soft facial types and elegant drapery, using warm tempera colors and delicate sfumato effects to unify the group of saints in a single coherent space.