Who painted Holy Family?

Holy Family was painted by Lorenzo Costa in 1500-01-01.

Where can I see Holy Family?

Holy Family is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Holy Family?

Holy Family is associated with Early Renaissance.

Can I buy a print of Holy Family?

Museum-quality prints of Holy Family are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Holy Family by Lorenzo Costa (1500) · Artifact World Gallery

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The intimate grouping emphasizes familial devotion and divine protection within a domestic setting, reflecting Counter-Reformation ideals of domestic piety.

The painting portrays the Holy Family, Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus, arranged with a modest honor cloth that underscores their sacred status. The intimate grouping emphasizes familial devotion and divine protection within a domestic setting, reflecting Counter-Reformation ideals of domestic piety. The work’s symbolism lies in the tender interaction among the figures and the subtle inclusion of the cloth, which serves as a visual cue to the sacred narrative.

Technique & Style

Holy Family is an oil painting executed on panel, a support typical of Lorenzo Costa's early work. The medium is oil paint, and the work is classified as a religious painting. Its modest dimensions, approximately 50 cm in height by 40 cm in width, indicate an intimate devotional format rather than a large altarpiece.

Stylistically, the depiction of the Holy Family combined with an honor cloth reflects Costa's engagement with traditional religious iconography at the turn of the sixteenth century.

History & Provenance

The work titled Holy Family was painted by Lorenzo Costa in 1500 using oil on panel. It measures 50 cm by 40 cm and depicts the Holy Family alongside an honor cloth. The painting entered the collection of Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, and later passed to Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg. It remains in the Rijksmuseum's Augusteum gallery as part of the Dutch national collection.

The work is classified as a religious painting and was created as part of the early 16th-century devotional output in Italian art.

The Holy Family by Lorenzo Costa is held in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it is displayed in the Augusteum. The panel was formerly part of the Grand Ducal collection in Oldenburg, having been owned successively by Peter II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, and Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, before entering the Rijksmuseum's holdings.

No specific accession number or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

Context

Lorenzo Costa's Holy Family, dated to 1500, represents a significant work within the artist's religious output during the High Renaissance. The painting, executed in oil on panel, depicts the Holy Family alongside an honor cloth, reflecting the devotional conventions of the period. Its provenance traces through the Grand Ducal collections of Oldenburg, specifically associated with Peter II and Frederick Augustus II, before entering the holdings of the Rijksmuseum in Augusteum.

This trajectory highlights the work's historical appreciation within European aristocratic collections and its subsequent institutional preservation. As a religious genre piece, it contributes to the understanding of Costa's contribution to early 16th-century Italian painting, bridging regional styles within the broader context of Renaissance sacred art.

Overview

Lorenzo Costa’s Holy Family, executed in oil around 1500, presents a quiet devotional scene now displayed in the Rijksmuseum. The composition centers on the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, with Saint Joseph positioned nearby. A richly draped cloth behind the trio adds a ceremonial atmosphere, while a calm landscape unfolds in the distance.