Holy Family with an Angel 1485 - 1495

Curator: This work, Raffaellino del Garbo’s "Holy Family with an Angel," painted sometime between 1485 and 1495 using oil paints, is on display here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It has this striking stillness about it, almost melancholic, don't you think? The colours are beautiful but muted. What do you see in this piece, something that perhaps I've missed? Curator: It’s funny you say that; I’ve always felt this tender sense of impending quietude within the work. Del Garbo positions us, doesn't he, within this intimate moment. Look how Joseph seems lost in contemplation, set apart, while the Virgin and Child occupy center stage. The distant landscape adds a further layer of introspection, that feeling of removal from everyday affairs. Notice also, how the subtle modelling of forms, especially in the faces, lends a kind of emotional depth...almost as though it anticipates later Mannerist explorations of internal states. What about the angel -- how do they strike you? Editor: Well, it almost feels like the angel is wistfully observing the scene, a silent witness, perhaps. I didn't really pick up on that impending quietude at first, but now you mention it, I completely see it! It is definitely quite profound, particularly with the way all figures look inwards. It also strikes me that this piece diverges so distinctly from your conventional image of The Holy Family... Curator: Absolutely, and to me that’s part of its beauty! So personal and softly contemplative. Editor: I totally agree, now it feels like I'm really *seeing* the painting.