Holy Family with the Infant St. John and lamb

This charming red chalk drawing was long attributed to one of the greatest artists of the early to mid 16th century, Antonio Allegri Correggio. As recently as 1977, it enjoyed that status, as depicted in the 2 1/2 cent New Zealand Christmas stamp. In accompanying publicity, the Post Office (now New Zealand Post) stated: 'The original of this work hangs in the National Art Gallery, Wellington. The figures on the drawing are: Mary, the Christ Child, Joseph and another child who is probably the infant St John. Correggio had been influenced by Leonardo Da Vinci, and Da Vinci often featured the infant St John in his nativity paintings'. 

However, the drawing, particularly of Joseph, looks far too naive to pass for a Correggio, lacking any volumetric qualities, and the work has instead been reattributed as an eighteenth-century French copy after a Holy Family by Bartolomeo Schedone (1578-1615). The style is not unlike similar chalk drawings from the studio of Carle van Loo.

See: Peter Tomory, Old Master Drawings from the National Collection (Wellington, 1983).

Dr Mark Stocker     Curator, Historical International Art         February 2017