Artwork
Holy Family with Young Saint John
Holy Family with Young Saint John is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Paolo Veronese. It dates from 1550 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the Holy Family, with the young Saint John the Baptist as a secondary figure.
The painting depicts the Holy Family, with the young Saint John the Baptist as a secondary figure. This grouping reflects a popular Renaissance devotional theme in which the Christ Child, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and the infant John the Baptist are united in a tender, contemplative scene. The presence of the young Saint John, identified explicitly in the work's iconographic program, alludes to his future role as the forerunner of Christ and to the spiritual kinship between the two holy children.
Together, the figures embody ideals of familial devotion, innocence, and the early life of the Savior, offering the viewer a model of sacred intimacy rooted in Catholic tradition.
As a religious work by Paolo Veronese, the painting participates in the Venetian tradition of devotional imagery intended for private contemplation, where the Holy Family and young John functioned as intercessors and exemplars of piety.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 60.5 cm by 63 cm, created in 1550. It depicts the Holy Family with the young Saint John, reflecting Veronese's characteristic composition and use of rich color. The formal treatment emphasizes harmonious grouping and delicate modeling of figures within a devotional setting.
History & Provenance
Holy Family with Young Saint John is an oil-on-canvas painting by Paolo Veronese dated to 1550. According to the Wikidata record for the work, the painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains located. The sources do not provide further details on an earlier ownership chain, a commissioning patron, or the circumstances of its creation prior to its entry into the museum's holdings.
The painting is held in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, where it is inventoried as SK-C-1943-150.
It was included in the exhibition Veronese in Veneto held at the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona, in 2014, and in Paolo Veronese: The Rise of the Painter at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 2014–2015.
Overview
Created circa 1550, this oil painting by Paolo Veronese presents a devotional scene commonly known as the Holy Family with a youthful Saint John. Executed in the Venetian Mannerist idiom, the work combines a restrained palette with a dramatic play of light and shadow. It is part of the permanent collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Paolo Caliari (1528 – 19 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( VERR-ə-NAY-zay, -zee, US also -see; Italian: ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of…
