Artwork
Holy Family with St Catherine
Holy Family with St Catherine is an oil painting by the High Renaissance artist Paris Bordone. It dates from 1520 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. Created in 1520, this oil painting presents a domestic tableau of the Holy Family accompanied by Saint Catherine.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a religious scene centered on the Holy Family, Mary, the Christ Child, and Saint Joseph, joined by Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
The painting depicts a religious scene centered on the Holy Family, Mary, the Christ Child, and Saint Joseph, joined by Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
Catherine, identifiable by her crown and the broken wheel beside her, kneels in the foreground, gazing toward the Christ Child. Mary holds the Christ Child, who reaches toward Joseph, who stands holding a book. The composition emphasizes maternal devotion and the Christ Child’s future role, while Catherine’s presence signals piety and learning, traditions linked to her legend as a learned Christian martyr.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, with the support measuring 69 cm in height and 89 cm in width. Bordone’s handling emphasizes smooth modeling and luminous color, typical of Venetian practice in the 1520s, where light plays across softly blended forms to convey volume and texture. Stylistically, the composition arranges the figures in a balanced, pyramidal grouping, with St Catherine positioned to the right holding the martyr’s palm and book, while the Holy Family occupies the left side with Joseph in quiet profile and the Christ Child turning toward the viewer.
The palette draws on warm Venetian tones, ochres, crimsons, and deep blues, contrasted with the silvery highlights on drapery and flesh to articulate space and depth.
History & Provenance
Holy Family with St Catherine was created by Paris Bordone in 1520, executed in oil paint on canvas in Italy. The painting entered the collection of the Hermitage Museum, where it remains held.
No further details concerning the original commission, successive private owners, or intermediate custodial transfers prior to the Hermitage acquisition are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1520, this oil painting presents a domestic tableau of the Holy Family accompanied by Saint Catherine. Executed by Paris Bordone, a Venetian painter who studied under Titian, the work now belongs to the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Context
The work belongs to the High Renaissance period in Venice, a time when artists emphasized balanced composition, rich coloration, and naturalistic detail. Bordone’s training with Titian is evident in the painterly texture and the luminous treatment of drapery, situating the piece within the broader Venetian artistic tradition.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor.
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