Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant Saint John

Art Historical Context

Created around 1495–1505, *Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and Infant Saint John* captures a tender moment from Christian tradition. Giovanni Antonio da Brescia, working after designs by the renowned Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna translated the composition into engraving on laid paper. The scene unites the Virgin Mary, Christ Child, Saint Joseph, Saint Elizabeth, and the young Saint John the Baptist in an intimate domestic setting, reflecting the period’s growing interest in humanized depictions of sacred figures. As a print, this work played an important role in spreading artistic ideas across Italy and beyond during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Engravings allowed Mantegna’s innovative compositions—marked by clear contours, sculptural forms, and classical balance—to reach wider audiences who might never see the original drawings or paintings. Da Brescia’s careful technique preserves the rhythmic lines and emotional warmth characteristic of Mantegna’s style while demonstrating the growing sophistication of reproductive printmaking. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection, the sheet measures just over 11 by 10 inches, inviting close, personal viewing. Such prints helped shape devotional practices and artistic education in Renaissance Europe, turning private spiritual moments into shared cultural experiences.