Madonna col Bambino in trono tra i santi Petronio e Tecla. (Pala di Santa Tecla)

Like Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa from Ferrara was a leading figure in the city’s cultural life at the time of the fruitful season distinguished by the Bentivoglio pseudo-sovereignty. The work illustrates how, by these dates, the artist was contemplating the scheme of the sacred conversation in terms of visual simplification, visible also in the choice of an austere architectural setting. The way the figures are designed, with gestures and expressions that show a clear influence of the art of Francia, is more basic here.