Raphael, Holy Family with Lamb (panel)

Description

In an enchanted rural landscape, dotted with sloping hills, saplings and signs of human presence, the Holy Family is organized in a pyramidal composition sideways, with the Child on a lamb in the lower left, Mary who is about to take him by lowering herself and Joseph standing behind her, while he holds, also bent, to the staff. The lamb is a symbol of Christ's sacrifice, also present in other similar works, such as Leonardo da Vinci's St. Anne, Virgin and Child with the Lamb. After all, some details refer to Leonardo, such as the articulation of the composition or the botanical species in the foreground, on the ground. Raphael differs from the master of Vinci, however, by impressing a greater dynamism, a more evident naturalness of gestures, looks and attitudes and a different preference for rich and bright colors, smeared in chiaroscuro backgrounds with depth that give a plastic and monumental breath to the subjects.