Madonna and Child with Saints Francis, Mark the Evangelist, Clare and Catherine of Alexandria

The tondo, painted by Luca Signorelli in 1515, is adorned with a refined frame carved with vegetable festoons. The painting is from Signorelli's later production, when he used to entrust parts of the execution of his works to his collaborators.
The title of the painting already gives a concise description of the characters. In the middle, Mary, suspended on a cloud of angels, holds the Child. As seen from left to right, they are surrounded by Saint Mark the Evangelist, Saint Francis, Saint Clare, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria. At the feet of the characters, there is a giant ribbon, the ‘roll’ which denotes the artwork and evokes Flemish painting. Perhaps it also represents eternity in the form of a heraldic emblem or magic symbol. This Flemish motif is similar to designs created by Filippino Lippi.
The multi-handed nature of the work is reflected in the discontinuous quality of the composition and some repaintings that appear throughout the drawing. 
The artwork was donated to the Museum by Paolo Vanni from Prato in 1871. However, its origin is unknown, although it can be assumed that it belonged to a Franciscan church, given the presence of Saints Francis and Clare.