Quinten Massys
South Netherlandish, 1466–1530
Virgin and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist
c. 1520–25
Saint Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary both seem to turn John the Baptist's head upward, as if offering it to the infant Jesus for his blessing. This scene is at once a representation of mothers tenderly interacting with their children and an allusion to Saint John’s martyrdom by decapitation. The atmospheric landscape sets the biblical figures not in the Holy Land, but in sixteenth-century Flanders. Given its small size, the panel was probably intended as a devotional picture for a private home.
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 24 13/16 x 19 in. (63 x 48.2 cm) Frame: 29 5/8 x 23 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. (75.2 x 60.3 x 5.7 cm) |
| Object Number | 1998.45 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by the Clark, 1998 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Quinten Massys, Virgin and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist, c. 1520–25, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, Acquired by the Clark, 1998.45
Select Bibliography
Vergara, Alejandro ed. Joachim Patinir. Museo Nacional del Prado, July 2- October 7, 2007. Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado. 2007.
Rand, Richard. "Recent Acquisitions (19942005) at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute." The Burlington Magazine 147, no. 1225 (April 2005): 293300.
Melikian, Souren. "A Unique and Unforgettable Collection." International Herald Tribune, 16–17 September 2000.
