Die Heilige Familie mit Elisabeth, Anna und dem Johannesknaben

Ludovico Mazzolino painted this Holy Family with Elizabeth, Anne, and the Young John around 1525, one of his complex sacred family groupings that expanded the standard devotional format. Mazzolino's Holy Family compositions characteristically crowd the picture space with multiple sacred figures—Virgin, Child, Joseph, Anne, Elizabeth, the young Baptist—arranged in his dense, vivid compositions that pack devotional content into the small formats he favored. The compressed spatial arrangement that brings all these sacred relatives into intimate proximity creates a visual density characteristic of Ferrarese devotional painting at its most inventive. The sacred kinship—the extended family of Christ—was a popular devotional subject that expanded the emotional range of the Nativity theme from family intimacy to extended community.

The panel displays Mazzolino's characteristic vibrant palette with compressed, energetic composition and the meticulous detail that made his small devotional panels sought after by discerning collectors.