Dublin Core
Title
Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis
Subject
Human figure in art
Jesus Christ
Catholicism
Saints
Female Artists
Baroque
Jesus Christ
Catholicism
Saints
Female Artists
Baroque
Description
This 1578 oil painting depicting the Holy Family is one of multiple works Fontana created of the Holy Family. Her talent for capturing the female form is prominently on display in this work, as she represents Mary from the knees up. Fontana captures Mary in a motherly motion of gently lifting her child from a crib - an action which places Jesus and Mary in the painting’s main source of light. This action plays with the religious theme of Jesus’ resurrection. Note the characteristically Baroque representation of baby Jesus with a plump, clearly defined, and large child. Joseph fades into a background with ornate drapery which extends to connect the Holy family with St. Francis, establishing a vertical axis. This drapery is actually a funeral shroud which increases the painting’s interplay between life and death. The crib resting upon a flat, cloth-covered table also invokes the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist which is a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice and worship of his grace. Fontana embraces these themes and masterfully uses one of her primary skills of painting fabrics to unite the symbols.
Following the lines traced by the cloth embroidering, the left half of the painting shows Saints Margaret and Francis admiring the Child. Their presence adds to the juxtaposition of life and death within the painting. St. Margaret is the patron saint of expectant mothers, and Francis is holding a crucifix with visible stigmata - both iconography of Jesus’ death. Fontana continues this juxtaposition artistically, with a bright foreground givind way to the dark background. Fontana successfully sets this painting as an illusion to Nativity scenes with the crib on a table physically separating the Holy Family and followers of the Christ, much as the manger did. However, in keeping with the Baroque style, Jesus is dynamically blessing St. Margaret and not a passive object of subjects’ and the viewer’s gaze.
Fontana elects to primarily reveal the facial expressions of the women and Jesus in the painting, as the men are both only shown with a side profile. The foreground dealing with childbirth could potentially reflect her own preoccupations, as she gave birth twice in the year of this painting’s creation, although both children passed away shortly after their birth. Lastly, Fontana’s signature is unmistakably set along the embroidering on the table cover.
Following the lines traced by the cloth embroidering, the left half of the painting shows Saints Margaret and Francis admiring the Child. Their presence adds to the juxtaposition of life and death within the painting. St. Margaret is the patron saint of expectant mothers, and Francis is holding a crucifix with visible stigmata - both iconography of Jesus’ death. Fontana continues this juxtaposition artistically, with a bright foreground givind way to the dark background. Fontana successfully sets this painting as an illusion to Nativity scenes with the crib on a table physically separating the Holy Family and followers of the Christ, much as the manger did. However, in keeping with the Baroque style, Jesus is dynamically blessing St. Margaret and not a passive object of subjects’ and the viewer’s gaze.
Fontana elects to primarily reveal the facial expressions of the women and Jesus in the painting, as the men are both only shown with a side profile. The foreground dealing with childbirth could potentially reflect her own preoccupations, as she gave birth twice in the year of this painting’s creation, although both children passed away shortly after their birth. Lastly, Fontana’s signature is unmistakably set along the embroidering on the table cover.
Creator
Fontana, Lavinia
Source
Cheney, Liana. “Lavinia Fontana, Boston ‘Holy Family.’” Woman’s Art Journal 5, no. 1 (1984): 12–15. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357879.
This source was published when Fontana's painting was discovered from a private collection and placed on public display. It analyzed the work in relation to Fontana's other portrayals of the Holy Family, making an argument particularly about the religious themes which are so powerfully represented in the painting. This allowed it to make the case for the importance of the painting in Fontana's career and within religious Baroque art.
This source was published when Fontana's painting was discovered from a private collection and placed on public display. It analyzed the work in relation to Fontana's other portrayals of the Holy Family, making an argument particularly about the religious themes which are so powerfully represented in the painting. This allowed it to make the case for the importance of the painting in Fontana's career and within religious Baroque art.
Publisher
maker: Fontana, Lavinia (Italian, b. 1552, Bologna, Papal States (now Italy)-d. 1614, Rome). Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis. Images, n.d. https://jstor.org/stable/community.10590178.
Date
1578
Contributor
Kyle Campbell
Rights
Image Courtesy The Davis Museum at Wellesley College; This image is provided for educational purposes only, and may be protected by copyright. The permission of the copyright holder may be required for the reuse of this image.; Contact Information: Helen A. Connor, Assistant Registrar & Documentation Specialist, Davis Museum at Wellesley College; Tel: 781.283.3369; Fax: 781.283.2064; https://www.wellesley.edu/davismuseum
Format
127 cm x 104.1 cm
Type
Oil Painting on Canvas
Coverage
Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley, United States