Saint Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist

This ivory work is an object of devotion which depicts the Virgin Mary with Child, Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist as a child, a scene from Jesus’s childhood which aims to illustrate a meeting between Mary and Jesus and Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist as a child on their flight from Egypt. The backdrop in this work is the outdoors next to a stone wall in ruins. The serenity of Mary contrasts with the joy of the Christ Child as he welcomes his cousin. As a whole, the work emanates a feeling of delight and joy. The predominant colour is lapis-lazuli blue, which is scattered about the Virgin Mary’s mantle, in contrast to the red of her tunic, which stands out from the white of the background. Miniatures on ivory were not a common practice until the 17th century. There is no doubt that the author of this ivory panel had a version similar to the painting by Giulio Romano before him, which he imitated even though he also allowed himself a bit of creative freedom. Scenes with members of the Holy Family outdoors at moments of rest were frequent during the Renaissance and allowed the painter to show his mastery of the construction of figures and the landscape. (Museu de Maricel, Sitges, Col. Dr. Jesús Pérez-Rosales, 2909)