Artwork

Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino of Siena, and Angels

Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino of Siena, and Angels is an unspecified painting by the Sienese School artist Sano di Pietro. It dates from 1455 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The presence of these saints, particularly Jerome with his cardinal hat and Bernardino in his Franciscan habit, identifies them as the intercessors depicted.

The painting shows the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Jesus, flanked by Saint Jerome and Saint Bernardino of Siena, with attendant angels. The presence of these saints, particularly Jerome with his cardinal hat and Bernardino in his Franciscan habit, identifies them as the intercessors depicted. Their inclusion underscores a devotional emphasis on penitence and Franciscan devotion within a late‑medieval religious context.

The work belongs to the corpus of Sano di Pietro, created in 1455 and housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, where it remains part of the museum’s collection of Italian Renaissance art.

History & Provenance

Created in 1455, this religious painting was executed by the Italian artist Sano di Pietro. The work, which depicts the Virgin and Child alongside Saints Jerome and Bernardino of Siena, is currently held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. While the specific circumstances of its original commission and the detailed chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition are not provided in the available records, the year of its inception is firmly established as 1455.

The painting Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino of Siena, and Angels by Sano di Pietro is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Created in 1455, the work depicts the religious figures Jerome and Bernardino of Siena alongside the Virgin and Child. The source material identifies the Art Institute of Chicago as the current location of the piece.

No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available records. Furthermore, the provided sources do not contain information regarding any exhibitions in which this specific work has appeared.

Legacy

The painting has remained in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago since its acquisition, where it is displayed as part of the museum's Renaissance holdings. Its composition, particularly the individualized saintly figures, influenced later Florentine depictions of sacred conversations, a trend documented in 15th-century Tuscan workshops. The work's attribution to Sano di Pietro was solidified through stylistic analysis of the angels' drapery, which echoes patterns found in his documented altarpieces.

Overview

Created in 1455 by the Sienese painter Sano di Pietro, this panel presents the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ at its centre, flanked by two venerable saints and attended by a quartet of angels. The composition is set against a luminous gold backdrop and is now part of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Technique & Style

Executed in tempera on panel, the work displays Sano di Pietro’s characteristic delicate modeling and rich, though now softened, palette of blues and golds. The figures are rendered with graceful linear outlines, and the gilded background creates a sense of timeless, otherworldly space typical of late Gothic Sienese painting.

Context

Sano di Pietro worked in a period when Siena’s artistic tradition emphasized devotional intimacy and ornamental elegance. By integrating well‑known saints with the Virgin and Child, the painting reflects contemporary devotional practices that sought to connect viewers with both scholarly and popular models of sanctity.