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Notes
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Mary and Joseph sit amid a rural landscape with crumbling, ancient architecture. Perhaps a later addition, the background figures make this composition unusual, with their sumptuous dress and incongruous size. One places her finger to her lips so as not to wake the sleeping Christ. This painting has formerly been attributed to Sassoferato, with the possibility that he was adapting the work of another artist, perhaps Simone Cantarini. However, the tradition of artists using elements of each other's works during this period makes it difficult to make a firm identification. The imbalance in the figures’ sizes and their deliberate poses (such as Christ’s folded arms) suggests that they were copied from sources such as prints. Sassoferrato did certainly absorb many influences, copying works by artists including Guido Reni (1575–1642) and Raphael (1483–1520).
Title
The Holy Family with Two Female Figures
Date
c.1640
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 33 x W 45.5 cm
Accession number
KINCM:2005.6137
Acquisition method
bequeathed by Sir Henry Seymour King, as by Siciolante da Sermoneta, 1934
Work type
Painting
