The Holy Family with Saint Anne and the Young Saint John

This piece is an oil painting on copper representing a scene of the Holy Family, accompanied by Saint Anne and the infant Saint John. The composition, markedly theatrical, is structured around a pyramidal scheme whose apex coincides with the head of the upper angel. Notable is the diagonal traced by the body of the Virgin, who holds the Child on her lap in a delicate scene of maternal-filial tenderness. The infant Jesus blesses the infant Saint John with three fingers, who greets him enthusiastically while carrying a cross, under the watchful gaze of a lamb situated in the lower left corner. These elements, customary in this type of representation, symbolically allude to the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

In the center of the scene stands Saint Anne, who approaches with a careful gesture, extending her hand toward the infant Saint John. Further in the background, Saint Joseph appears absorbed in reading, possibly meditating on the destiny prophesied by Isaiah. Two additional figures complete the scene in the lower right margin, contributing to the compositional dynamism.

The episode takes place in an open room, with architecture of classicist inspiration. A gathered curtain at the top frames the main scene, while in the background a ruined landscape is glimpsed, reinforcing the symbolic and narrative character of the work.

The artist reveals a clear knowledge of the work of Raphael Sanzio, as evidenced by certain stylistic correspondences that the copper shares with other creations of the master of Urbino, among them the Madonna del Divino Amore, currently preserved in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples.

These affinities with Raphael's pictorial language are also appreciated in other works in the collection, such as The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John or the Allegory of the Triumph of the Immaculate Conception.