Once placed at the high altar of the church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli, Florence, it is now in the Uffizi Gallery in the same city.

It has been described as "almost certainly ... the first true sacra conversazione", or painting of the Virgin and Child with saints on a unified scale and sharing the same space.

The polychrome floor, and the architecture, including the base of the Madonna's throne, is depicted with the use of geometrical perspective, an innovation introduced in Italian early Renaissance art.

The garments and the mitre of St Zenobius are particularly rich, with precious stones, pearls, golden plaques and enamels.

The predella included panels with scenes of the saints of the main composition, and a central, double-size Annunciation: the Stygmata of St. Francis and John Baptist in the Desert are currently in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Annunciation and The Miracle of St. Zenobius are in the Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge, and the Martyrdom of St. Lucy is in the Berlin State Museums.