Artwork
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret is an unspecified painting by Filippino Lippi. It dates from 1498 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Filippino Lippi created this work for private contemplation, likely intended for a devotional setting within a domestic context.
A religious painting portraying the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, Saint Joseph, the infant Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Margaret, reflecting devotional themes common in late 15th-century Italian art. The composition emphasizes familial intimacy and divine protection, aligning with devotional practices of the period. Filippino Lippi created this work for private contemplation, likely intended for a devotional setting within a domestic context. Its iconography integrates saints associated with protection and fertility, reinforcing its spiritual significance.
History & Provenance
The work was created in Italy around 1495 for devotional use, reflecting the religious art production of the late Renaissance period. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on public view as part of the museum's European paintings holdings. The painting was later included in the exhibition "Filippino Lippi and Rome," which highlighted the artist's output within its Roman context.
The painting is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is part of the museum's holdings of Italian Renaissance religious works. According to its Wikidata record, the work was made in Italy in 1495.
The painting has been exhibited in the show "Filippino Lippi and Rome," as documented in its exhibition history. No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources.
Overview
Filippino Lippi’s Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret was painted in 1498. Executed for a devotional context, the work presents a modest outdoor gathering of five figures rendered in the transitional language between the late Early Renaissance and the nascent High Renaissance. The painting is part of the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
Lippi combines tempera and oil on panel, a practice becoming common in late‑15th‑century Florence. The figures are modeled with delicate chiaroscuro, and the palette juxtaposes Mary’s blue mantle against the richer reds and golds of the surrounding saints. The landscape background, with a modest building, a solitary tree, and a hazy cityscape, reflects the period’s growing interest in naturalistic settings.
Context
The work belongs to a phase in Lippi’s career when he was integrating the compositional clarity of the Early Renaissance with the emerging dynamism of the High Renaissance. Its inclusion of multiple saints alongside the Holy Family mirrors contemporary devotional practices that emphasized intercessory figures within a single visual narrative.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Filippino Lippi (probably 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian Renaissance painter mostly working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.
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