The Holy Family

Ludovico Mazzolino painted this Holy Family around 1516 for the Bavarian State Painting Collections. Mazzolino was one of the most distinctive painters of the Ferrarese school, known for small-scale devotional paintings filled with elaborate detail. His densely packed compositions filled with vivid incident and brilliant color reflect the eclectic, learned tastes of the Este ducal court. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique.

The panel demonstrates Mazzolino's characteristic miniaturist precision and vivid coloring, with elaborate detail and somewhat eccentric figure types that distinguish his work within the Ferrarese tradition.