This altar painting shows a gathering of saints around the enthroned Virgin and Child. Those praying before it would have felt drawn into the scene by the glance and gesture of St Nicholas on the left. St Sebastian and St Roch (next to the Virgin) were prayed to for protection from the plague. The piece was painted possibly in connection with an outbreak of the disease. St Martin, on the right, is patron saint of Lucca in Italy. In many places the paint surface is missing. These gaps have been filled with neutral tone rather than an attempted reconstruction of the original design.
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