The Holy Family
Perino del Vaga (1501–1547)
c. 1540
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Pietro Buonaccorsi, always known as Perino del Vaga, was one of the most talented of the pupils of Raphael (1483–1520), though the works of his maturity reveal at least as much admiration for Michelangelo (1475–1564). The subject of an unusually full and well-informed biography in Vasari’s ‘Lives of the Artists’ (1550 and 1568), Perino was originally from Florence, but indisputably belongs to the Roman school. Like most of the artists of his generation based in the eternal city, his career was dramatically disrupted by the Sack of Rome in 1527. He subsequently found employment in Genoa, as court artist to the great admiral Andrea Doria, and also in Pisa, before returning to Rome towards the end of his life.
Many of Perino’s finest achievements were in the medium of fresco, whether for churches or private palaces, and only a handful of easel paintings by his hand survive, though he was an extremely gifted and prolific draughtsman. The present ‘Holy Family’ is arguably Perino’s masterpiece in this genre. Its facial types and almost claustrophobic sense of intimacy against a dark background are both directly inspired by Raphael’s late manner, and specifically by works such as the ‘Madonna della Rosa’ (Museo del Prado, Madrid) from around 1516/17. Intriguingly, however, the poses of the Virgin – and especially, though it is slightly rotated, of the Christ Child – are derived from Raphael’s earlier ‘Aldobrandini Madonna’ (National Gallery, London), which is generally dated around 1509/10. That work’s importance for Perino is further confirmed by his admittedly less faithful but nevertheless undeniable adaptation of the same figures in his ‘Holy Family’ in the Musée Condé at Chantilly. Not only is the present work with its enamel-like surface remarkably refined in its technical mastery, but it artfully combines facial expressions of notable emotional coolness with physical intimacy. The apple the Virgin holds in her left hand alludes to Adam and Eve’s original sin, which was to be blotted out by Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross.
- Material/technique
- oil on poplar panel
- Measurements
- 84.8 cm diam.
- Acquisition
- acquired in 1822 by Prince Johann I von Liechtenstein
- Artists/makers/authors
- Perino del Vaga
- Inventory number
- GE 24
- Signature/inscriptions content only available in German
- Siegel: rückseitig 3 Siegel, mit denen der Zettel der Galerie Bovio, Bologna, befestigt ist
- Provenance
- before 1822 Bovio Collection in Bologna, acquired in 1822 by Prince Johann I von Liechtenstein from the Viennese dealer Carlo Gamora
- Iconography
- Holy Family
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