Who painted Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint?

Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint was painted by Carlo Caliari in 1550.

Where can I see Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint?

Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint is held by Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

What movement is Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint?

Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint is associated with Mannerism.

Artwork

Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint

Carlo Caliari , 1550

Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Carlo Caliari. It dates from 1550 and is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

About this work

Overview

Carlo Caliari’s *Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint* is an oil on canvas dating from around 1550.

Carlo Caliari’s *Holy Family with Saint Catherine and another saint* is an oil on canvas dating from around 1550. Executed in the Mannerist manner prevalent in mid‑sixteenth‑century Venice, the work presents a domestic interior populated by a mother with infant, a cloaked saint, a male figure with a staff, and a nude child. Warm earth tones dominate the composition, and a curtained window and draped table complete the setting.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure is the Virgin holding the Christ child, flanked by Saint Catherine and an unidentified male saint, possibly a patron saint. A nude boy, likely a symbolic representation of the infant John the Baptist, stands nearby. The gathering suggests a devotional scene that emphasizes the sanctity of the family unit while invoking the intercession of the accompanying saints.

Technique & Style

Caliari employs the elongated proportions and elegant poses characteristic of Mannerism, with a refined handling of light that models the figures against a muted backdrop. The palette relies on rich browns, tans, and subtle reds, while the delicate rendering of fabrics and drapery demonstrates the artist’s training in his father’s workshop.

History & Provenance

Created while Caliari was active in his father Paolo Veronese’s studio, the painting later entered the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Its attribution to the younger Caliari reflects documentation of his collaborative work with his brother and uncle during the 1550s.

Context

The work illustrates the Venetian tradition of integrating sacred narratives into intimate, interior settings, a practice popular among patrons seeking personal devotional images. Caliari’s adherence to his father’s compositional conventions, combined with the emerging Mannerist aesthetic, situates the painting at a transitional moment in Venetian art.