The Holy Family with Mary Magdalene and Infant Saint John

Title: The Holy Family with Mary Magdalene

Artist: Palma Vecchio

Work: Oil on panel

Work Date: 1520

Style: Venetian

Size：h87 x 17 cm. h34 1/4 w46in

Collection: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

 

Appreciation

 

Colour and light effects are as important to this painting as its subject.

 

The tones in the Virgin's robe, for example, fluctuate from dark to light red as the garment drapes over her knees. In contrast to this realistic depiction, the Virgin's face is idealized into a cherubic image.

 

These characteristics are deeply rooted in Venetian painting and follow the painterly tradition of Giorgione and Titian.

 

Like the older artist, Palma Vecchio specialized in the placement of a religious subject in an idyllic, pastoral setting. These often featured plump, sweet-faced blonde women, who became a hallmark of the artistic's style.

 

He was an accomplished portrait painter and also received a large number of ecclesiastical

commissions. These included several large altarpieces depicting the Virgin and Child surrounded by saint ( a composition called a sacra conversazione ). His most famous is the Santa Barbara alter in Santa Maria Formosa, Venice.