The Holy Family with St. Catherine, St. Sebastian and a Donor

This 1507 painting of the Holy Family with Saint Catherine, Saint Sebastian, and a donor, now in the Louvre, is an early work by Sebastiano del Piombo when he was still working in the Venetian tradition of Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione. The inclusion of a donor portrait anchors the sacred scene in contemporary patronage. 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 sacra conversazione arrangement groups saints around the Madonna in a landscape setting with rich Venetian coloring. The luminous treatment of flesh and drapery reflects Sebastiano's early Venetian training under Bellini and Giorgione.