The Holy Family with Saints Francis and Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist
early or mid-1630s
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
69 1/2 x 82 1/2 in. (176.5 x 209.6 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of James Henry Smith, 1902
Accession Number
02.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of Baroque religious art, Peter Paul Rubens crafted *The Holy Family with Saints Francis and and the Infant Saint John Baptist* in the early or mid-163s, during the late phase of his illustrious career. monumental oil on canvas, measuring nearly six by seven feet, depicts the Virgin Mary and Christ Child tenderly surrounded by Joseph, Saint Anne (Mary's mother), the young Saint John the Baptist, and Francis of Assisi, with sheep dotting a pastoral landscape. Such crowded, devotional groupings were hallmarks of Counter-Reformation imagery, designed to evoke deep faith and...
About the Artist
Peter Paul Rubens · 1577–1640
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) stands as the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition and the greatest exponent of Baroque painting's dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance. Born in Siegen, Westphalia, and raised in Antwerp, Rubens received a humanist education studying Latin and classical literature before pursuing artistic training under three masters: Tobias Verhaecht, Adam ...