The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

Florentine by birth, Perino was trained in Raphael’s workshop in Rome, where he soon became one of the most inventive artists of his generation. This is a rare devotional painting by him. It includes traditional symbols such as the goldfinch (symbolic of the Resurrection), but also more unusual details, especially a young Saint John who is crowned with grape leaves and wears a leopard skin, usually associated with the god Bacchus—a mingling of pagan and Christian iconography. The exquisite depiction of the infant Christ shows the care with which Perino approached this panel.

Credit: Purchase, Acquisitions Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Fisch, Denise and Andrew Saul, and Friends of European Paintings Gifts, Gwynne Andrews Fund, Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill, Jon and Barbara Landau, Charles and Jessie Price, Hester Diamond, and Fern and George Wachter Gifts, 2011