Tuscan school. Circa 1600. The Holy family with St. Joseph and St. Anna

Sacred family with St. Joseph and St. Anna
Late mannerist tuscan school.
Circa 1610.

Oil on canvas.

Size 102cm x 77cm

Painting by an unknown Tuscan painter from the late 16th - early 17th century which recalls the Florentine tradition of the early 16th decades.

This group represents a family of Christ.  In the centre sits the Virgin, holding Christ, with her mother St Anne on left.

The work proposes an iconography that spread in the first quarter of the 16th century, in particular the two naked children (Jesus and Saint John) in the foreground, one seated and the other standing, in the act of embracing each other.

This group recalls the motif of the putti paired in Leonardo's lost painting “Leda”.
The theme of the "HOLY CHILDREN" was widely spread starting from Leonardo, extending to Italy and Northern Europe.

Our painting appears to be the work of a Tuscan-trained Mannerist artist, perhaps painted in the last quarter of the 17th or early 17th century.

In the center sits the Madonna with baby Jesus sitting on her lap. On her sides are: on the left S. Anna and at her feet S. Giovannino; on the rightS. Joseph.

A landscape with hills and mountains surrounds the scene.