The Infant Christ and Saint John Embracing

Marco d'Oggiono painted this Infant Christ and Saint John Embracing around 1500 in Milan. D'Oggiono was a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci who faithfully transmitted his master's compositional types. The intimate embrace of the two children was a Leonardesque motif that d'Oggiono and other followers reproduced in numerous versions. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with Leonardesque sfumato and soft modeling of the children's figures. The intimate composition derives from Leonardo's prototypes, rendered with d'Oggiono's competent but less nuanced version of the master's technique.