Virgin and Child

Though the author of this painting has been debated, its strong outlines and facial types are characteristic of works by Francesco Morandini. The unnaturalistic figural proportions, especially in the Virgin’s long neck and arms and Christ’s muscular physique, are typical of the Mannerist style, and the composition derives from a lost work by Pontormo, one of Florence’s most influential Mannerist artists. John the Baptist, Joseph, and Saint Elizabeth appear before a background archway. Elizabeth holds a book bearing the date 1561, the year the work was executed. Morandini would have been only around seventeen years old.