Fra Bartolommeo painted this work in 1509, immediately following his return to Florence from Venice. In a scene of calm grandeur, the Holy Family is shown resting on their flight into Egypt under a date palm and pomegranate tree, while the Infant Saint John the Baptist presents a reed cross to the Christ Child, seated on the Madonna's lap. Saint Joseph leans on the donkey’s pack saddle, calmly observing the meeting of Christ and Saint John. A pomegranate, symbolic of Christ’s resurrection, lies half eaten in the foreground. The palm tree on the left is another symbol of the Passion, representing the palm fronds that would pave the road on Christ's final entry into Jerusalem.
Fra Bartolommeo constructed an evocative landscape which harmoniously combines the different stages of the narrative. In the distance on the right, the Holy Family are shown fleeing Bethlehem on a donkey, escaping King Herod’s massacre of the innocents. The landscape also includes a ruined arch, which alludes to the coming of Christ and the downfall of the Roman Empire's pagan order, personified by the Virgin. Although the Gospels relate that Christ and Saint John the Baptist first met as adults when the saint baptized Christ, Fra Bartolommeo here draws from New Testament apocrypha which describe the early life of Christ and were popular sources of inspiration for artists of this period.
The artist creates a remarkable tension between the Madonna and two children, both spatially and emotionally. They form a triangular shape, accentuated by the child Baptist’s outstretched left leg and the Madonna's extended right leg, the foot of which points outward. Fra Bartolommeo captured the Florentine ideal of beauty in the Madonna’s graceful pose and softly modelled face and neck, which is further enhanced by her placement in a pristine landscape, an aspect of religious painting to which the artist made a unique contribution.
We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.
Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.
Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.
Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..
Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.
Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.
Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)
All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.
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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.
