Madonna and Child in a Landscape

While the present Madonna is not a direct copy, the composition is evidently based on the central figures from the Madonna and Child attributed to Perugino in the Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples. Rather than show the figures full length, Giannicola ends the composition at the Madonna’s knees and excludes the figures in the background. The Christ Child is heavily reliant on Perugino’s design, while the face of the Virgin is painted very much in Giannicola’s own idiom. The features are sweeter and less linear and the flesh appears softer and rounder.