Visitation

This 1519 Visitation depicts the meeting of the pregnant Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, a subject that allowed Sebastiano to demonstrate his skill in rendering two monumental female figures in a dramatic outdoor setting. The work dates from his most productive Roman period. His figures carry Venetian sensuous richness combined with the overwhelming physical presence that Michelangelo's influence brought to his Roman works. Sebastiano del Piombo's religious paintings demonstrate his unique position in Italian Renaissance art: the fusion of Venetian colorism and atmospheric light with the monumental figure style he developed through his collaboration with Michelangelo, who provided him with figure designs that Sebastiano developed with the full resources of his Venetian color tradition. The combination was unprecedented and unrepeated: only Sebastiano had the specific combination of Venetian training and Michelangelesque influence that produced this particular synthesis. His large religious works for Roman churches were among the most admired pictures of the sixteenth century, and his technical achievement in fresco — unusual for a Venetian-trained painter — extended his monumental manner to wall painting.

The painting shows Sebastiano's mature command of monumental figure composition, with powerfully modeled forms and a rich, deep palette that create a sense of gravity and emotional weight.