Workshop Of Polidoro De Renzi, Holy Family With Saint John

Workshop of Polidoro de Renzi called Polidoro da Lanciano

(Lanciano, 1515 ca - Venice, 1565)

Holy Family with Saint John

Oil on canvas, cm 90 x 88

Polidoro de' Renzi was born in 1515 ca. in the town of Abruzzo from which it takes its name, Polidoro da Lanciano.

There is not much information about the early years of Polidoro’s life. We know that his father was a ceramist and he moved to Venice, which became the center of his artistic activity. In Venice, Polidoro came into contact with the great masters of the Venetian Renaissance, such as Titian and Tintoretto. Although there is no documentary evidence of his direct training in their shops, his work clearly reveals the influence of these art giants.

Polidoro’s style is characterized by a remarkable eclecticism. In his works one can see echoes of the classicism, mannerist culture and formal innovations of his contemporaries.

Polidoro da Lanciano’s work is characterized by a great variety of subjects, ranging from sacred to mythological painting. Among his most famous works we remember: The Banquet of the Gods:, now kept at the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples; Christ and the adulterer, n biblical subject very widespread in the art of the Renaissance, of which Polidoro realized several versions and the Descent of the Holy Spirit; an altarpiece clearly showing the influence of Bonifacio Veronese, preserved in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice.The painting in question, which depicts the Holy Family with Saint John, fits perfectly into the context of the pictorial production of Polidoro da Lanciano. The composition, characterized by the typical curtain that opens on a landscape and the diagonal that guides the gaze towards the Virgin, is a recurring element in his production. The gestures of the characters, so natural and spontaneous, and the chromatic palette, rich in delicate nuances, give the work a grace and delicacy typical of the artist. Take the famous mystical marriage of Santa Caterina di Ca Rezzonico or the Madonna with Child and Saint Louis of Toulouse in Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum and the Madonna with Child, Saint John and Saint of the Basilica of San Pietro, Perugia.