In the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Sts. This work is often referred to as the Pala Pugliese. It was made for the Pugliese private chapel within the Church of St. Maria a Lecceto near Florence, which has since been renamed Church of Sts. Jacopo e Filippo a Lecceto. Each saint in this altarpiece was included for his significance to the Pugliese family. Peter, dressed in blue and holding his attributional keys, is the saint for whom Piero del Pugliese, a wealthy politician and avid collector of Renaissance art, was named.
John the Baptist, gesturing to the infant Christ with a pointed finger, is the patron saint of Florence. The kneeling St. Dominic, with three white lilies over his shoulder, was the founder of the Dominican Order. Offering three golden spheres is St. He is a symbol of charity, and in this case, he is modeled after Piero del Pugliese. Bernard c. In the latter painting, Pugliese is confined to the lower right corner, kneeling piously before the Virgin and saint.
Compare the image of Pugliese in these two portraits to the depiction of St. Nicholas, with his strikingly similar profile, enlarged ears, and cropped hair. Italian Renaissance painters often attributed certain physical characteristics to saints, allowing onlookers to easily identify them.
In addition to his attribution of three golden spheres, St. Nicholas was often painted as an elderly man with a short, white beard. Piero del Pugliese was around 50 years old when the Pala Pugliese was painted, and it seems Piero di Cosimo aged him a bit to better conform to the image of St.
The inclusion of this portrait was almost certainly at the request of Piero del Pugliese himself, and his desire to be represented as St. Nicholas shows the identity he wished to embody. Nicholas is associated with generosity, and the gold in his hand references the tale of three impoverished daughters.
