3-002-764 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant Saint John the Baptist, c1525-1530. The young John the Baptist and the Christ Child are represented in ways that encourage the viewer to ponder their futures. Held by his mother Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, John acts out his adult role as Christ's precursor and hands Mary a small branch shaped as a cross. At Mary's feet, the tiny Christ Child is shown deeply asleep in a position that foreshadows his later death.