This remarkable altar-piece has been painted by Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, commonly known as "Rosso" Fiorentino because of his red hair. Fiorentino was a a leading mannerist painter active in Florence around the early sixteenth century. He is known for expressive stylisation in his pieces. This oil painting on wood panel depicts enthroned Madonna with baby Jesus along with four saints an two angels sat at the stairs, immersed in a holy scripture. Originally commissioned by Leonardo Buonafede for the Ognissanti Church, this piece was later hosted at the church of Santo Stefano in Grezzano. This was due to the dissatisfaction experienced by its patron on the designed result of this piece. The originally decided design of this painting included the Virgin and Child along with the saints John the Baptist, Leonard, Benedict, and Jerome. Fiorentino had painted this piece with a mannerist fashion which included figurative stylisation and an anti-classical representation of the subject matter. This was a step away from the harmonious and balanced depictions of the Renaissance. Due to this reason Buonafede alleged that the saints looked devilish, cruel, and evil; thus refusing to pay the designated compensation for this piece to Fiorentino; the latter took the former to the court over the matter. Over this dispute and due to the change of the location for this altar-piece, Fiorentino later changed the saints Leonard and Benedict into saint Stephen and Anthony respectively. This also brought changes in the portrayal of these figures and their iconography, while the style remained expressive. The overall palette of this painting includes bright colors of both warm and cool nature. The artist has used chiaroscuro to enhance the sense of visual spatiality along with numerous layers of glaze in order to depict the suppleness of human-flesh. In the scene, we can see Mary and infant Jesus in the centre with golden halos over their heads as the four saints surround them. The latter's gestures indicate as if they are conversing with Mary while infant Jesus gazes down with his arm outstretched. The two angels sit at the feet of these five figures and are seemingly engrossed in a scripture, completely ignorant of whatever conversation is taking place behind them. Fiorentino, with this piece had successfully demonstrated his artistic prowess at the handling of colors, narratives, and the subject matter; evident from the major changes he made to the original design.
Rosso Fiorentino’s provocative painting, initially made for the Ognissanti Church, was a fine example of the artist’s attempt to move away from High Renaissance’s balanced classicism toward the expressive, anti-classical Mannerism. Created from unorthodox mixtures of bright warm and cold colors as well as thin glazes and bold chiaroscuro, the altarpiece has shocked its initial patron, Leonardo Buonafede, who noticed the devilish and cruel faces on the painting’s figures. As a result, the artist got involved in a law suit with another patron over this issue, hence it was the final version of the oil-on-wood composition, which depicted an active halo-endowed dialogue between the enthroned Madonna and Child and the two angels reading the holy scriptures at their feet, that had to alter two saints’ iconography to meet the Santo Stefano in Grezzano church’s new requirement.
