How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Buy a print or image licence
You can purchase this reproduction
If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
The Virgin Mary, dressed in blue, visits her older cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with Saint John the Baptist. This episode is described in the New Testament and happens immediately after the angel visits Mary to announce her own miraculous conception of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, the women rejoice at their pregnancies, but here they look serious and concerned. Joseph, Mary’s husband, is not included in biblical descriptions of the Visitation, but he often appears in paintings. Here he stands behind Mary. The elderly man descending the steps is Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband. This is probably the work of a north Italian artist or a French painter working in Italy. The artist adopted a classical painting style: the bodies are large and solid like antique sculpture.
Title
The Visitation
Date
about 1630
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 113.6 x W 218 cm
Accession number
NG5448
Acquisition method
Bought, using the Martin Colnaghi Fund, 1944
Work type
Painting