Italian school of the XVI century. Following RAFAEL... Lot n° 44

Italian school of the 16th century. Following RAFAEL SANZIO (Italy, 1483 - 1520). "The Holy Family of Francis I/The Great Holy Family". Oil on copper. Size: 27,5 x 22 cm; 55 x 49 cm (frame). This work is a faithful continuation of the one painted by Raphael Sanzio in 1518, an oil on panel transferred to canvas now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. In this canvas Raphael depicted the Holy Family accompanied by the infant John the Baptist and his mother, Saint Elizabeth. The arrangement of the different figures reflects the hierarchy of the figures in this iconography. Thus we see Saint Joseph in the background, almost hidden in the shadows, while the two women and the two children remain in the foreground, directly illuminated. These four figures form a typically Raphaelesque pyramidal scheme, much imitated by his followers, which is clearly classical, and which anchors and balances the composition. Furthermore, this scheme serves to focus attention on the two main figures: Jesus and Mary. With regard to the subject matter, the iconography that introduces the figure of Saint John the Baptist into scenes of the Holy Family or Mary with the Child is not only due to the saint's status as a relative of Jesus, but also has a theological significance. These images present St John the Baptist as a prophet who announces Christ's redemptive mission, which is why, despite the fact that he is depicted as a child, before his retreat into the desert, he appears in the skin of a lamb or camel and generally accompanied by the iconographic attributes common in his images, which allude to the Passion of Christ. However, unlike in other paintings by Raphael and others, the children here appear to be oblivious to Jesus' dramatic fate. Only the two women show a certain restrained sorrow in their expressions that allows us to guess the sorrow with which they contemplate the children's games.