Holy Family

Holy Family from around 1504 by Palma Vecchio is a devotional painting by the Venetian painter who was a contemporary of Giorgione and the young Titian. Palma Vecchio, born Jacopo Negretti, was known for his warmly colored, sensuous paintings that exemplified the Venetian school's emphasis on color over line. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays rich, warm Venetian color inherited from Giorgione and the young Titian, voluptuous female figures with characteristic golden hair, atmospheric landscapes that merge seamlessly with figure groups.

The Holy Family is rendered with the warm, glowing color and soft atmospheric quality characteristic of the Venetian school, with Palma Vecchio's characteristically broad forms.