Artwork
Adoration of the Child - Holy Family with child St. John
Adoration of the Child - Holy Family with child St. John is a wood painting by the High Renaissance artist Fra Bartolomeo. It dates from 1498 and is held in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This religious painting by Fra Bartolomeo, dated to 1495, visually interprets the Holy Family as its primary subject.
This religious painting by Fra Bartolomeo, dated to 1495, visually interprets the Holy Family as its primary subject. The composition features the Virgin Mary and Joseph alongside the Christ Child. Distinctively, the work also incorporates the child Saint John the Baptist into the sacred grouping, expanding the traditional domestic scene to include his future role as the precursor to Christ.
Executed on poplar wood, the image serves as a devotional representation of these central figures of Christianity, emphasizing their familial bond and spiritual significance within the context of late fifteenth-century Florentine art.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a poplar wood panel, measuring 99.1 cm in height and 98.6 cm in width. It belongs to the religious genre and portrays the Holy Family with the Christ Child and Saint John. The painting belongs to the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, Alte Pinakothek, and was featured in the exhibition "Florence and its Painters: From Giotto to Leonardo da Vinci".
History & Provenance
The Adoration of the Child, also known as the Holy Family with the Christ Child, was painted by Fra Bartolomeo in 1495 on poplar wood. It is part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it has been catalogued with dimensions of 99.1 cm in height and 98.6 cm in width. The work entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and has been included in exhibitions such as "Florence and its Painters: From Giotto to Leonardo da Vinci," underscoring its religious subject matter and significance within the corpus of early Renaissance art.
The painting is housed in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, with the inventory number 2673. It was included in the exhibition "Florence and its Painters: From Giotto to Leonardo da Vinci" held in 2006.
Overview
Created in 1498, this tempera painting on poplar panel presents a quiet devotional scene of the Holy Family accompanied by the infant Saint John the Baptist. The composition is enclosed by an elaborate gold border that frames the figures and a modest landscape, emphasizing the intimate interaction among the central characters.
Context
Produced during the High Renaissance, the painting reflects the period’s focus on balanced composition and humanistic portrayal of sacred subjects. Fra Bartolomeo’s training under Rosselli is evident in the clear spatial organization, while the inclusion of Saint John anticipates the later emphasis on his role in the narrative of salvation.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (UK: US: Italian:; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di San Marco, Bartolomeo di Paolo di Jacopo del Fattorino, and his original nickname…
Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
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The Holy Family with the Infant John the Baptist
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