Francesco da Santa Croce
Madonna and Child between Saint Jerome and Zacharias
Location: Church of St. Peter Martyr, Murano, Italy
Provenance: Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Murano
On the right, Jerome is identifiable only by his red mantle. On the left, Zacharias holds a scroll that has his name at the head, followed by the text of the "Canticle of Zacharias" that he spoke upon the birth of his son John the Baptist (Luke 1:68-80). In the 16th century it was not usual for images that featured Jews in ancient times to put them in turbans. In this painting of St. Stephen's ordination from 1511 turbans distinguish the Christians from the Jews.
In the center, the Madonna wears the customary blue mantle. The child's nakedness is customary in Madonna and Child images of this period.
Left of the scroll, a piece of paper pinned to the dais bears the artist's name, FRANCISCUS DE SANCTA ✚ ("Croce" means "Cross"), some illegible abbreviations, and the year 1507.
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Read more about The Madonna and Child, Zacharias, and St. Jerome.
Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.