Artwork
The Holy Family
The Holy Family is an unspecified painting by the High Renaissance artist Pietro Perugino. It dates from 1498 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
History & Provenance
Executed in the Umbrian school tradition, the composition depicts the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, and Saint Joseph.
The Holy Family is a religious painting by the Italian artist Pietro Perugino, dated 1498. Executed in the Umbrian school tradition, the composition depicts the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, and Saint Joseph. The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display.
No specific accession number is cited in the available documentation, and the sources do not detail an exhibition history beyond its inclusion in the museum's holdings.
Context
Dated 1498, The Holy Family exemplifies the devotional genre of the Umbrian school and Perugino's broader output of sacred subjects. Its composition, Mary, the infant Christ, and Joseph, reflects the stylistic conventions of late-fifteenth-century Italian religious painting. The work was created for a devotional context and later entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display.
Overview
Created in 1498 by Pietro Perugino, a prominent figure of the Umbrian school, this tempera on panel presents a serene domestic tableau that aligns with the compositional balance of the High Renaissance. The work is part of the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it remains on public display.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a tender group: a woman in a green habit, hands clasped in prayer, a small infant reaching toward her, an older man reclining in sleep, and a second child kneeling nearby. The figures are generally identified as the Holy Family, embodying themes of devotion, protection, and the intimate bonds within the biblical narrative.
Technique & Style
Perugino employs a soft palette of earthy browns, deep greens, and muted reds, allowing a gentle warmth to suffuse the faces. Delicate chiaroscuro models the forms, while the background recedes into a bustling townscape with riders and distant architecture, creating depth without disrupting the calm foreground.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pietro Perugino (US: PERR-ə-JEE-noh, -oo-; Italian:; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; c.
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The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [right panel]
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The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [left panel]![The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [middle panel], by Pietro Perugino](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/pietro-perugino--the-crucifixion-with-the-virgin-saint-john-saint-jerome-and--a9b4c312771e3f71-w320.webp)
The Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Jerome, and Saint Mary Magdalene [middle panel]
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