Davide Ghirlandaio, 'The Virgin and Child with Saint John', probably about 1490-1500

The Virgin Mary steadies the infant Christ as he stands and makes a blessing gesture towards his cousin, Saint John the Baptist. John’s devoted gaze is a sign of his recognition of Christ’s divine authority and would have reminded contemporary viewers that, as a young man, John lived in the wilderness, preaching about Christ. The jewelled gold cross is a reminder of Christ’s death by crucifixion.

This image of the holy figures follows a format popular in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio – see, for example, The Virgin and Child. The diagonal brushstrokes which run from top left to bottom right here, particularly noticeable in the flesh areas, suggest the painter was left-handed, like Domenico’s brother and business partner, Davide.

The relatively small size of this arch-shaped picture suggests it was made as a focus for private devotion in the home. The materials, such as the ultramarine pigment in the Virgin’s mantle and, mixed with white, in the sky, were expensive: ultramarine is made from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The sweetness of the Virgin’s face, the colours used and the delicacy of the painting of the details are thoroughly Florentine, recalling similar works by contemporaries of the Ghirlandaio brothers, like Verrocchio and Lorenzo di Credi, showing the close connections between these workshops.

The buildings in the right background are based on notable monuments in Rome and include the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Castel Sant'Angelo, Old Saint Peter’s and the Vatican. The picture was clearly made after 1482, when Davide was working with his brothers on the frescoes in the Sistine chapel, alongside Botticelli.

Underdrawing is now visible beneath the paint surface in some areas. It shows that the artist changed his mind about the position of the Virgin’s right hand, which was originally on the child’s right leg. It may have been moved to draw attention to Christ’s blessing hand.