Madonna and Child with Infant John the Baptist and Saint Francis

Probably this work belonged from the beginning to the sacristy of the Franciscan convent of San Bernardino, which owned a rich collection of paintings on touchstone. In fact, it was usual to employ it for devotional use and to place these objects in the monks' cells. This very successful composition on touchstone boasts an unparalleled profusion of replicas and variants, not all of which are autographed like this one.