Virgin and Child with Saints

The saints are, from left to right, Francis, Matthew, Louis of Toulouse, John the Evangelist, Anthony Abbot and Peter Martyr. The poppies strewn over the floor are emblems of death, while the sapling which breaks through the wall represents new life: taken together, these symbols stand for Christ’s victory over death. The stiff, formal arrangement of the figures is rather old-fashioned in a work of this date. The picture was probably painted to celebrate a marriage between members of the Michiel and Donà families in Venice, whose shields appear in the lower corners.