Madonna and Child between Saints Roch, John, Sebastian, Dominic and Leonard

This Sacra Conversazione (meaning "holy conversation”) represents one of the most successful works by Tommaso di Piero Trombetto, an artist who was born and lived in Prato, the son of a trumpeter of the Municipality, who was himself a trumpeter and town crier, and who devoted himself to the trade of candle making and painting. His workshop was commissioned with numerous works in Prato and the surrounding area from the last decades of the 15th century until around 1530.
His production is influenced by the most famous Florentine masters, from Domenico Ghirlandaio to Botticelli to Filippino Lippi, but seems far from comprehending the scope of the revolutionary language of the reference models. 
This altarpiece, tempera on panel, has a traditional layout: the Madonna is in the centre, seated on a throne, with the Child in her arms; at the sides, the saints, depicted with their attributes according to Christian iconography. On the left, St. Roch, with a pilgrimage stick and a wound on his thigh; St. Sebastian, tied to a black marble column and pierced by arrows; between the two, at the bottom, is kneeling towards the Madonna St. John the Child, holding a cruciform stick; on the right, St. Dominic, wearing a black cloak, holding a lily and a book under his arm; and finally St. Leonard, holding chains. In the golden halos of the saints we find their names written in Latin.
The architectural structure, a sort of marble niche, is adorned by the floral decoration of a silk drape and a carpet with geometric motifs, details that recall Flemish painting and Domenico del Ghirlandaio. In addition to these, Trombetto displays a particular wealth of allusions and references to other artists. In the construction of the central part with the Madonna and Child standing on a cushion, he reworks references from Andrea del Verrocchio and Francesco Botticini, while the St. John and the poses of some of the saints recall Filippino Lippi.