Holy Family

A silent conversation of gestures and gazes, this portrait of the holy family presents a moment of warmth between the Christ Child and his cousin, John the Baptist. Stepping over his mother’s lap, the Christ Child wrapped in a golden cloth turns towards the young Saint John, who leans outwards, indicating the baby to his mother Elizabeth. The Virgin Mary, dressed in red and blue textiles, and Joseph, behind her, look down at their son sorrowfully. A small cross in the lower left corner foreshadows Christ’s eventual crucifixion. This painting is based on a work by the Italian artist Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), painted for the Medici family in Florence, Italy (today in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence). In this version, by Del Sarto's pupil Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the figure of Saint Joseph has been added behind the Virgin Mary in a deviation from the original composition. 

Vasari was a painter, architect, and historian who is primarily known today as the author of The Lives of the Most Celebrated Painters, Sculptors and Architects (published in 1550, and in revised form in 1568). This book chronicled the lives, times, artworks, and techniques of those who Vasari perceived to be the great artists of the Renaissance. Although Vasari introduced some artistic licence into his lively artist biographies, his text is still used as a foundational resource in the study of art history today.