\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 Cima painted this picture for the church of San Domenico in Parma. A scroll on the pedestal of the throne bears his signature: IOANIS
BAPTE GONEGLANESO OPUS. The composition adheres to the typical scheme of the Venetian \i Sacra Conversazione\i0 , and depicts the Madonna and Child flanked by John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. St. John carries a scroll with the inscription ECCE AGNUS
DEI and the Magdalene a pot filled with ointment, the traditional iconographic attributes of the two saints. Overall, the composition is a ôrusticö and somewhat reduced version of the solemn Venetian \i altarpiece\i0 , as the painter has chosen to set th
e sacred scene in the open countryside, in the midst of nature. In fact only a low parapet and, behind the Virgin, a high strip of embroidered cloth separate the figures in the foreground from the background, permitting an unobstructed and sweeping view
of the hilly landscape in the distance. The figures have a friendly appearance, with kindly and generous expressions on their round faces, and with the tender gesture of the two saints reaching out to the Virgin, Cima has created one of the most intimate
of all \i Sacre Conversazioni\i0 . It is within the bounds of possibility that this work, located in Parma, had an influence on the soft and gentle manner adopted by \b \cf4 \ATXht1202 Correggio\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 .\par
