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The altarpiece comes from the Cappella Medicea del Noviziato in Santa Croce, in Florence. The four saints represented are St Francis, St Damian, St Cosmas and St Anthony of Padua.
The work shows traces of dynamism that appears to derive from the contemporary presence of Donatello. Here, Lippi uses a light that is physical and real, and groups the forms in a more classical compositional arrangement. The figures are fairly static, and not unjustly an unexpected angularity in the poses has been noticed, almost a hint of Andrea del Castagno. In the Virgin's plump hands and in the typically newborn proportions of the Child, however, Lippi again reveals, over and above the solemnity of the scene, his openness towards a humanity observed with love and sympathy.
The picture shows the painting after restoration.
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