Who painted The Visitation?

The Visitation was painted by Aurelio Lomi in 1612.

Where can I see The Visitation?

The Visitation is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is The Visitation?

The Visitation is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

The Visitation

Aurelio Lomi , 1612

The Visitation is an oil drawing by the Baroque artist Aurelio Lomi. It dates from 1612 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Aurelio Lomi’s *The Visitation*, executed in 1612, is an oil work painted on laid paper. The Italian painter, active in early‑Baroque circles in Pisa, renders the biblical encounter between the pregnant Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. The composition is dense, populated with numerous figures that animate the narrative space.

Subject & Meaning

The scene captures the moment Mary, bearing the infant Jesus, travels to greet Elizabeth, who carries John the Baptist. Their meeting, a key episode in the New Testament, symbolizes the recognition of Christ’s mission and the prophetic link between the two infants, underscored by the intimate gestures of the two women.

Technique & Style

Lomi employs a chiaroscuro palette dominated by earth tones, punctuated by occasional bright accents such as a blue disc in the distance. Deep shadows carve the forms, while the figures are rendered with vigorous, loosely applied brushwork that conveys movement. The aerial cluster of tangled silhouettes adds a dramatic, almost tempestuous atmosphere typical of early Baroque experimentation.

History & Provenance

Created during Lomi’s mature period in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the drawing reflects his transition from late‑Renaissance restraint to the more expressive Baroque idiom. While specific ownership records are scarce, the work remains associated with Lomi’s oeuvre of religious subjects produced for Tuscan patrons in the early seventeenth century.

Context

The Visitation belongs to a broader tradition of Counter‑Reformation art that emphasized emotional engagement and clear theological messages. Lomi’s use of dynamic composition and stark lighting aligns with contemporary developments in Pisa and Florence, where artists sought to invigorate devotional imagery with heightened drama.

Artist & collection

Artist

Aurelio Lomi

Aurelio Lomi (29 February 1556 – 1622) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and early-Baroque periods, active mainly in his native town of Pisa, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.