Artwork
The Virgin and Child with St Joseph and St John the Baptist
The Virgin and Child with St Joseph and St John the Baptist is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Pontormo. It dates from 1522 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Mordvinova’s collection, and a preparatory drawing survives in the Uffizi’s Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe.
‘The Virgin and Child with St Joseph and St John the Baptist’ is an oil painting by Pontormo, dated around 1522. It shows the Holy Family, a common religious subject.
The work was made early in Pontormo’s career and now hangs in the State Hermitage Museum. The museum acquired it as part of countess E. I. Mordvinova’s collection, and a preparatory drawing survives in the Uffizi’s Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe.
Check out the State Hermitage Museum for more.
Overview
Created around 1522, this oil on panel by the Florentine painter Pontorma depicts a domestic scene of the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ, accompanied by Saint Joseph and the young John the Baptist. The composition reflects the artist’s early phase, before his mature Mannerist style fully emerged, and is now displayed in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents the Holy Family, a recurrent theme in Renaissance devotional art, emphasizing the intimate bond among the figures. The inclusion of the infant John the Baptist, a forerunner of Christ, adds a narrative layer that anticipates his future role as the prophetic herald, while Saint Joseph’s presence underscores the familial context.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on a wooden panel, the painting shows Pontorma’s nascent handling of colour and form, with soft modelling of flesh tones and a restrained palette. The figures are arranged in a shallow space, allowing a gentle interaction that hints at the artist’s later experiments with elongated proportions and dynamic compositions.
History & Provenance
The canvas entered the Hermitage’s collection in the early twentieth century as part of the bequest from Countess E. I. Mordvinova, a notable Russian patron of the arts. A preparatory sketch for the composition survives in the Uffizi’s Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, offering insight into Pontorma’s planning process.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacopo Carucci or Carrucci (IPA: ; May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo (da) Pontormo or simply Pontormo (IPA: ), was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School.
