The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist
Maker
Attributed to
(artist)
1501-1547
(artist)
1501-1547
Title
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist
Date of Production
c. 1528-37
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
Height: 106.6 cm (panel)
Width: 77.6 cm (panel)
Width: 77.6 cm (panel)
Accession Number
P.1932.XX.311
Mode of Acquisition
The Art Fund, Art Fund gift & grant aid, 1932
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust). Purchased with assistance from The Art Fund, 1932.
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
On display
Keywords
Label Text
We do not know why this striking work was never finished. It offers a rare glimpse into the early stages of the painting process. Some areas are defined only in pencil, such as the Virgin Mary’s face, carefully traced from a separate drawing. In contrast, her drapery is sketched freely with a fine brush and ink. Hints of a landscape in the upper left, also in ink, indicate an elaborate background was originally planned before the composition was changed. Finally, the painter started modelling the adults’ hands and the children in thin layers of oil paint.
Provenance
ex. coll. Lord Northbrook, purchased by the Art Fund from Agnews and presented to the Courtauld Institute of Art, 1932; transferred from the Courtauld Institute of Art to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2002.
Exhibition History
The Courtauld at the National Gallery, National Gallery, London, 27/03/2019-05/08/2019
Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, The Met Breuer, New York, 18/03/2016-04/09/2016
Summer Showcase - Unfinished, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/06/2015-20/09/2015
Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, The Met Breuer, New York, 18/03/2016-04/09/2016
Summer Showcase - Unfinished, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/06/2015-20/09/2015
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