From the parish church of Santi Ilario e Taziano in the district of Torre comes this altarpiece by Giovanni Antonio de’ Sacchis, known as Il Pordenone, now replaced on site by a copy. Commissioned by the community of Torre and completed for Christmas of that same year, it depicts the Madonna col Bambino tra i santi Ilario, Taziano, Antonio abate e Giovanni Battista (Madonna and Child with Saints Hilary, Tatian, Anthony the Abbot and John the Baptist).
The work dates from the artist’s period of full maturity (1520). During these years, Pordenone blended elements of Venetian painting with influences derived from his study of Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520), likely stemming from his stay in central Italy around 1518.
The result is a compact and cohesive composition, in which the figures interact within a simple, symmetrical architectural niche that opens onto a glimpse of the sky. The compositional scheme is that of the classic ‘Sacra Conversazione’: at the centre, the Virgin and Child are placed on a high pedestal; on the left are Saints Hilary and Tatian, martyrs of Aquileia; on the right, Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint John the Baptist, whose gestures draw the eye back to the centre of the scene. The composition is completed by the two angel musicians at the base of the throne, yet another testament to the artist’s love of music.
Despite the damage it has suffered — the loss of the upper section, the crowning element and the predella — the altarpiece retains remarkable expressive power and is considered by some scholars one of the highest achievements of Il Pordenone’s work.
