Madonna and Child with St. Zenobius, St. John the Baptist, St. Anthony and St. Francis of Assisi by Francesco Pesellino (1450s) ✎

I saw this lovely painting at the Louvre.

Pesellino was a bridge between the delicate & ornate International Gothic style of the Middle Ages and the more structured Early Renaissance.

Pesellino was, in his day, doing some cutting-edge art for the 1450s.

The halos are still the traditional “gold disks”. By the time we reach the High Renaissance, they’re turned into thin golden hoops or disappeared entirely. The linear perspective is clear, and faces bear a subdued expression (the sacrifice of Christ) as opposed to the earlier distinctly-stylised Gothic faces. There is a somber tone.

St. John the Baptist announces the coming of the Messiah by pointing at the Child and directing the viewer’s attention towards the spiritual meaning of the work. I noticed some faint anatomical signs in the arm (blood vessels) which obviously marks it out as a humanist-renaissance painting.