The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist

Museum record 27310: The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist by Peter Paul Rubens. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist (record 27310), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

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Peter Paul Rubens’s distinctive blend of fleshy figures and heroic actions dominated the artistic ethos of Antwerp (in present-day Belgium) for much of the 1600s. Here, he translated a sacred subject into vernacular language. The infant Jesus cuddles on the lap of his mother, Mary, whose exposed breast serves as a visual reminder of the human needs of Jesus, also the child of God. Her elderly cousin Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, look on in wonder and awe, and Joseph, Mary’s husband, te…