Artwork

Mary, Elisabeth, the child and the young st. John in glory, adored by two monks in white religious costume

Mary, Elisabeth, the child and the young st. John in glory, adored by two monks in white religious costume is a paint painting by the Mannerist artist Moretto da Brescia. It dates from 1541 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1541 by Alessandro Bonvicino, known as Moretto da Brescia, this oil painting presents a celestial gathering of the Virgin Mary, Saint Elisabeth, the infant Christ, and the youthful Saint John the Baptist. Beneath the heavenly group, two monks in white habits kneel in reverent prayer. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

Subject & Meaning

The composition brings together figures from the New Testament narrative: Mary and her cousin Elisabeth, who bore John the Baptist, are shown with their children in a shared divine space. The inclusion of the two kneeling monks emphasizes human devotion, linking the sacred event to monastic contemplation.

Technique & Style

Executed in the Mannerist idiom, the painting displays a restrained yet precise handling of form. Fine modeling of drapery, intricate folds, and subtle tonal variations in the clouds create a sense of depth, while the muted palette of grays and browns reinforces the solemn atmosphere.

History & Provenance

Moretto, a prominent Renaissance painter from Brescia, produced the work for an ecclesiastical setting, typical of his many altarpieces for northern Italian churches. Over the centuries it entered the German museum sector and now resides in Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie.

Artist & collection

Artist

Moretto da Brescia

Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (c. 1498 – possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia,…