Maria mit Kind und Heiligen (Demidoff Altar)

The Virgin and Child with Saints (The Demidoff Altarpiece)

This was the high altarpiece for the church of San Domenico in Ascoli Piceno. Originally there was also a predella (a painted tier supporting the main altarpiece) and a Lamentation scene above the Virgin and Child.

The saints on the main tier are John the Baptist, Peter, Catherine and Dominic. Those on the upper tier are Francis, Andrew, Stephen and Thomas Aquinas. The presence of Dominic and Thomas Aquinas, the principal Dominican saints, reflect the dedication of the church. Several of the panels are remarkable for their raised ornament. The panels were given their present frame in the 1850s.