In the context of this artwork, analyze the Commission of the History.
It was commissioned for the high altar of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Perugia, also known as Santa Maria dei Fossi. The contract for the work is dated 14 February 1496 and contains detailed instructions for its production and for its wooden frame by Mattia di Tommaso da Reggio, which imitated the architecture of the church's facade. The painter was then at the peak of his powers as a favourite of pope Alexander VI, with whom he had signed a contract for painting the Borgia Apartments.
Perugia Borgia Apartments pope Alexander VI