In the absence of any distinguishing iconographical features, it has not been possible to identify the four saints, except for the two on the left holding palms, who are martyr saints. What appears to be a fifth saint, lightly drawn in black chalk, is probably only a preliminary position for the saint standing on the extreme right. A faintly drawn curved line in black chalk at the top right of the sheet indicates that the composition was originally conceived with an arched top. The design was then changed to a plain, rectangular format, though the sides gradually taper as they reach the top. The compositional formula of the Virgin and Child appearing to saints standing below on the ground was one that Palma Giovane frequently employed in his altarpieces. Examples include the Virgin and Child Appearing to Sts. Alexander, Ursula, Clare and St. Francis of Assisi in the Chiesa di S. Alessandro dei Cappuccini, Bergamo (Ivanoff and Zampetti, 1980, p. 530, no. 15, and p. 697, fig. 2); and the Virgin and Child Appearing to Sts. Peter, Francis of Assisi, Antony of Padua and Paul in SS. Pietro e Paolo, Monno, Brescia (Ivanoff and Zampetti, 1980, pp. 545, no. 122, and 725, fig. 1). Neither of these corresponds in detail with the Prado study, though it is worth observing that the figure of the saint in the lower left of the Prado drawing is not dissimilar to that of St. Joseph in the bottom left of the altarpiece of the Trinity Appearing to Sts. Joseph, Francis of Assisi, Lucy and Margaret in the Oratorio della S. Trinità, Arquà Petrarca, Padua, signed and dated 1626, which seems to be partly executed by helpers (Ivanoff and Zampetti, 1980, pp. 528, no. 4, and 727, fig. 5). From its style, the Prado drawing would appear to date from the middle of the 1620s (Text drawn from Turner, N.: From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado, Art Services International-Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 154).