The Holy Family

The work titled The Holy Family was created by the Master of the Legend of the Magdalene in 1515 as an oil painting on panel. It entered the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it remains today as part of the Flemish Kunstcollectie. The painting depicts Mary, the Christ Child, and Joseph, forming the traditional Holy Family composition.

Its creation is dated to 1515 based on the artist's documented activity and the work's stylistic analysis within the Early Netherlandish tradition. The dimensions of the panel are 62 cm in height and 52 cm in width.

The work is held in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it is catalogued under the inventory number Vlaamse Kunstcollectie. It has been exhibited in the museum’s permanent display of Early Netherlandish painting, though specific exhibition titles are not detailed in the source.

The Holy Family by the Master of the Legend of the Magdalene has been studied within the framework of Early Netherlandish painting, a movement defined by meticulous detail and devotional intensity. Scholarship emphasizes the work's devotional function within Counter-Reformation contexts, particularly how its domestic portrayal of the Holy Family influenced later interpretations of familial intimacy in sacred art. Comparative analyses situate the piece within the artist's broader oeuvre, which reinterprets familiar biblical narratives through a distinctly Antwerp lens, blending devotional gravity with subtle psychological realism.

The painting's presence in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp's collection underscores its recognized significance as a representative example of early 16th-century religious painting in the Low Countries.

The work's stylistic characteristics, including its use of oil on panel and compositional balance, have been cited in studies of regional artistic exchange, highlighting the Master's contribution to the evolution of devotional imagery in the Low Countries.

Created in 1515, this oil painting on panel presents a domestic scene of the Holy Family, featuring the infant Christ, his mother Mary, and Joseph. The composition is set within a modest interior, characterized by wooden flooring, a fireplace, and a window that frames a verdant landscape. The work exemplifies the intimate, devotional imagery favored by early sixteenth‑century Netherlandish artists.