Madonna and Child with Four Saints

The Virgin and child are accompanied, from left to right, by Mary Magdalene, Sabinus (a bishop and the patron saint of Siena), John the Evangelist, and Margaret of Antioch. Christ blesses with his right hand and holds a scroll in his left, signifying his deliverance of the word of God, while the group are watched by angels above. The importance of the Virgin and child is emphasized by their enormous scale and central position. This arrangement, combined with the stiff poses and stylized draperies, is influenced by Byzantine icons. The panel was originally a dossal – a work affixed to the top of an altar.