Description
The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret gathers sacred figures within a circular painting. Mary occupies the center in blue and red, holding Christ close to the adjoining young John, while Margaret attends the children and Joseph appears behind. A book lies in the foreground, and architecture and a tree beyond extend the setting. Filippino Lippi fits their overlapping forms into the rounded field without losing the intimacy of their contact.
Made around 1488–93 in tempera and oil on wood, the work was commissioned by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa during the artist’s Roman years. The Cleveland Museum of Art connects its inventive forms with Lippi’s study of ancient art, including a classical figure reworked into Saint Margaret. The painting joins those artistic sources with an intimate sacred encounter, allowing its monumental format to remain closely centered on human contact.





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