The Holy Family with St. John

item details

NameThe Holy Family with St. John

ProductionPierre Brebiette; engraver; 1620-1642
Andrea del Sarto; after; circa 1523

Classificationprints, etchings, works on paper

Materialspaper

Materials Summaryetching

Techniquesetching

DimensionsSheet: 273mm (width), 352mm (height)

Registration Number1970-0030-4

Credit lineGift of Sir John Ilott, 1970

Overview

The etching is after Andrea del Sarto's Zanobi-Bracci Holy Family, (c. 1523), now in the Pitti Palace, Florence. It depicts the Virgin Mary kneeling before the infant Christ; beside them both is a standing figure of John the Baptist.

According to Giorgio Vasari, the famous writer of Renaissance artists' lives, del Sarto was 'one of the best and greatest masters who have lived even to our own day'. The qualities of del Sarto's drawing, pictorial structure, and real sensitivity towards his subject, are well evoked in this etching by the French 17th century artist Pierre Brebiette. The Latin inscription, from the Vulgate Bible, translates as 'grace flows into your lips' and continues 'because God has blessed you'. Del Sarto's graceful figures, and Briebiette's etching, make these the perfect artists to convey such a message.

Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art February 2017