Titian shows his patron in a devotional pose, kneeling before the Virgin and presented to her by Saint Peter. Prominently displayed on the step is Saint Peter's key; its diagonal plane, leading toward the Virgin, parallels that of Jacopo. The Virgin's position at the top of the steps alludes to her celestial role as "Madonna della Scala "(Madonna of the Stairs) and as the Stairway to Heaven. Titian actually used his wife, who died in childbirth soon after, as the model for the Virgin Mary in this work.