“Painted for the Marsili Chapel in S. Martino, Siena, Beccafumi’s ‘Nativity’ retains its ambitious architectural marble frame by Lorenzo di Mariano, datable to 1523. The links between the iconography of the painting and frame can be explained by the desire of the patron, Anastasia di Nanni Marsili, to commemorate her husband and son. The way the Virgin is depicted was to influence visual representations of the Immaculate Conception, a doctrine closely associated with Siena,” stated Dr. Medicus in the article.
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