The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Peter, Jerome, (?)Ambrose, and (?)Roch

The informal arrangement of figures in this work is derived from Sebastiano Ricci's Virgin and Child with Saints in S. Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. The work presents a complex and dynamic composition that combines elements of traditional religious painting with Ricci's characteristic Baroque style. This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool’s economic development grew directly from Britain’s involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Caribbean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.