Gwen Fries 1/29/13 Holy Family with Infant St. John & St.

Elizabeth The Holy Family with Infant St. John & St. Elizabeth, an oil painting by Giovanni Vanni was created in the 1650s. It depicts the Madonna with the baby Jesus, and a man who is most likely supposed to be depicting her husband, Joseph. With Jesus's immediate family is his cousin, John the Baptist, and his aunt, Elizabeth. They are all in the foreground of the painting, with the Messiah, the Madonna and John the Baptist in front and the man likely to be Joseph and Elizabeth just behind them. On a hill in the back left-hand corner of the painting is depicted a city. Elsewhere in the background is a lush, rolling landscape. There seems to be a mountain or a volcano in the very back just to the right of the city. The Holy Family, Elizabeth, and John appear to be standing in the ruins of a tomb or a temple. There is great detail on the wall behind which Joseph sits, and Giovanni Battista Vanni foreshadows the events of the Bible by giving John the Baptist a cross with a scroll and camel hair, as he turned his back on luxury and fine goods in favor of telling of the coming of Christ later in his life. The light in this painting is focused on Jesus Christ mainly but also on John the Baptist and Jesus's mother, Mary. Almost all of the Messiah's body is covered with the almost heavenly light except on the left side of his stomach and where his arm crosses his torso. St. John the Baptist gets the most light on his left arm where he holds aloft the cross that symbolizes Christ's future action of atonement. The Virgin Mary's hands and face are completely lit up by the incandescent light. The light appears to be coming from the figures' right side based on the shadows where arms are crossed over torsos and the shadows that fall on the faces. Joseph, in

particular, displays from where the light source comes. The crown of his bald head is shining and reflecting the light while his face, which is turned away, is covered by a shadow. The lighting in this painting also highlights the three-dimensionality of the figures in Vanni's work. The way he uses light, or the lack of light, conveys a sense of frailty, divinity, or weight. St. Elizabeth's numerous wrinkles make her age significant and truly convey the miracle that was her pregnancy with John the Baptist. Meanwhile, the Virgin Mary has a flawless complexion which exaggerates her holiness and youth. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ are portrayed with tremendous girth as beings akin to cherubs. The figure of the baby Jesus, besides having the lightest hair and the most luminous skin to make him stand out, is framed by the other figures in the painting. Joseph is gazing at him from the left of the painting. John the Baptist is turned towards him, posed almost as though he is about to give him a kiss on the cheek. Mary has her hand placed over her heart and is gazing down at her holy child. St. Elizabeth on the very right of the painting is leaning on her hands, gazing lovingly at the two children, and posed almost as though she is praying. To make the Messiah stand out further, Giovanni Vanni has made him the one nude figure in the work and has him be the one figure portrayed not in profile, but 3/4, except for the figures of Joseph and Elizabeth who are in the background as less important figures. The Christ child is also portrayed in an almost balletic pose, with his right leg up in the air, bent at the knee, and all of his weight balanced on the toes of his left foot. Unfortunately, due to what I assume are preservation efforts by the artistic community, it is extremely difficult to detect any single brush stroke. No matter from what angle you view the

painting, the surface appears to be mostly smooth, just with a slight crackle if viewed from very near.