Italian paintings

It was long believed that the “simplistic” nature of this work was evidence of the clumsiness of the painter, and therefore that it could not be attributed to Botticelli. It was also thought that it had originally been painted on wood panel, before being transposed onto canvas, evidence that it dated from after the painter’s death. All these hypotheses have been disproven, and the painting is indeed attributed to Botticelli, assisted admittedly by an assistant for the figure of Saint Joseph.