Andrea del Sarto, 'The Madonna and Child, Saint Elizabeth and the Baptist', about 1513

The Virgin Mary is seated with her cousin Saint Elizabeth and their sons in a rocky landscape. The infant Christ reclines on his mother’s lap resting against her arm. Due to damage it is difficult to make out the gesture of his right hand. He leans his head back and laughs mischievously.

This is a reduced version of the ‘Tallard Madonna’ (State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg) signed by Andrea del Sarto, which shows the Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth, John the Baptist and Catherine in a lively scene conversing with one another. Saint Catherine is missing from the National Gallery version and there are also a few other small differences: in the ‘Tallard Madonna’ Christ turns back to look at Saint Catherine (who gazes at the viewer) and points to direct her attention to Saint Elizabeth; the figures are also slightly larger in scale. There is another copy of the Hermitage picture in the Royal Collection, Windsor.

The Virgin’s hands support her son’s back and rest on his leg in a very natural way, as though Sarto has observed and drawn from a real mother and child. The infant John the Baptist nestles beneath his mother’s protective arm and leans against her raised knee. He is pointing to something but it is not clear what that is. His reed cross and scroll inscribed ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ (‘Behold the Lamb of God’) lie on the ground at his feet. They remind the viewer of Christ’s future crucifixion and sacrifice for humanity.

This type of picture in which the Virgin is surrounded by saints is known as a sacra conversazione. The gestures and interconnected glances suggest a psychological exchange.

The oval face of the Virgin with her small round dark eyes is a recognisable trait of Andrea del Sarto’s figures, and may be based on the features of his wife, Lucrezia del Fede. Sculptural draperies with angular folds, seen here in Saint Elizabeth’s robes, are also typical of his work, and are evident in the voluminous blue sleeve of his Portrait of a Young Man.

There are many pentimenti – instances where the artist changed his mind during painting – suggesting that this is an original work by Sarto, possibly with studio assistance in less important areas such as the landscape. The dark lines of the underdrawing can also be seen through the paint in some parts, particularly the flesh. Some of the changes altered the picture so that in its final form it was more like the ‘Tallard Madonna’, suggesting that the National Gallery’s picture may have been made first.