The Holy Family

528
The Holy Family with St John the Baptist
ca. 1532
Domenico Beccafumi

The heads of the figures are bent at different angles rendering the painting more dynamic; the same effect is enhanced by the contrast of the cold pink and warm yellow tones, as well as the light and shade. The radial composition axes converge near the bottom at Mary's wrist to create an illusory eccentric circle. This work of art is a classic example of Beccafumi's Mannerist phase from the beginning of the 1630s. A valuable replica of this painting, differing in colours and executed in a stronger Mannerist vein, is in the Lindenau Museum in Altenburg, Germany.