The Virgin and Child Enthroned

Ludovico Brea worked with Vincenzo Foppa on the polyptych for Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, nephew of Sixtus IV, completed in 1490 and placed on the high altar of the cathedral of Savona. This painting draws on the central compartment of that polyptych for the general composition and the detail of the three angel musicians seated on the Renaissance throne. Brea was also influenced by the painting of Leonardo, from which he derived the landscape setting and the shading of the flesh tones.
The lowered gazes of the two sacred figures and the blessing gesture of Jesus suggest that the panel was the central section at the top of a polyptych set on two levels, a very common type in Liguria.