Holy family with little John the Baptist (Madonna Stroganova), Anolo Bronzino 
- Posted by Anolo Bronzino
- Museum: Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin
- Year: Around 1540
Overview of the painting :
Holy family with little John the Baptist (Madonna Stroganova) – Anolo Bronzino. Around 1540. Oil on canvas. 117×99
The largest representative of the mannerism is Florentine Anolo Bronzino (1503-1572), court artist Kozimo I Medici, the great duke of Tuscany. “The Holy Family with the Little John the Baptist” was written shortly after the wedding of Cosimo I and Eleanor of Toleda. The canvas is distinguished by its brilliance and virtuosity. It gives a vivid idea of the art of Bronzino, creatively pretending the ideas of the great Michelangelo.
The composition of the picture is deliberately complicated by the artist, he uses sophisticated multidirectional angles when placing figures in space, masterfully combining the free possession of the picture, impeccable ratios of plastic masses and an exquisite picturesque solution. In the images of the saints, similarities with members of the Medici family are guessed, whose portrait images are well known. So, St. Joseph, depicted in profile, resembles Cosimo I himself, Madonna – his wife, and Baby Christ – their eldest son Giovanni.