The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Saints John the Baptist and Lucy

Marco Palmezzano, a painter from Forlì in Romagna, created this Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints around 1513. A pupil of the great Melozzo da Forlì, Palmezzano continued his master's interest in perspective and monumental form while adapting to the softer, more harmonious style of the early Cinquecento. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The altarpiece shows Palmezzano's characteristic crisp drawing and bright palette, with the careful perspective construction inherited from Melozzo and the warm devotional tone of Romagnol painting.