The Holy Family with Mary Magdalen

c. 1590–95

El Greco

(Spanish, 1541–1614)

Culture

Spain

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 160 x 131 x 7.5 cm (63 x 51 9/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 130 x 100 cm (51 3/16 x 39 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Friends of The Cleveland Museum of Art in memory of J. H. Wade 1926.247

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Location

212 Baroque Painting and Sculpture

Did You Know?

The nearly levitating body of the Christ child further emphasizes the ethereal setting of the Holy Family.

Description

The seemingly weightless figures, the startling color combinations, and the moody, imprecise setting all show El Greco’s interest in conveying the intense spirituality of these figures rather than their concrete reality. Above all, the painting addresses Mary’s role as mediator between Christ and the viewer. She supports her son, but her faraway look indicates awareness of his fate. Mary feeds Jesus fruit held by Joseph that is full of symbolic meaning, with the apple representing the fall of man; cherries, the blood of Christ; peaches, salvation; and pears, the sweetness of Christ’s virtue.