The painting uses the
Holy Conversation composition, with the Madonna and Child in the center between two saints, a scheme widely used by
Giovanni Bellini and other Venetian painters of the time. It depicts, on a dark background, a thoughtful Madonna. The Child is rather fat, and is trying to reach
St. Flavian of Ricina, painted on the left. The latter is offering Jesus a pierced heart, a symbol of the future
Passion. The identification of Flavian, the patron of the city of
Recanati in the Marche, is disputed, and some scholars identified him as
Ignatius of Antioch: according to the legend, after his death his heart opened and the name of Jesus (as referred by Lotto with the monogram YHS on it) in golden letters. On the right is
Onuphrius the hermit, whose character was inspired by
Dürer's
Christ among the Doctors (Madrid,
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza), which the German artist had painted in Venice in 1506. Other elements recalling Dürer's works include the general asymmetry of the composition, the bright colors and the drapes, which Lotto had previous painted as screwed up paper, and are now instead softer and more colored. ==Sources==