The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Presentation Sketch for "The Holy Family with Saints Anne, Joachim, and John the Baptist" (for Santa Maria in Via Lata, Roma)

c. 1729

Francesco Trevisani

(Italian, 1656–1746)
Italy, 18th century
oil on canvas
Framed: 179 x 127.5 x 6.5 cm (70 1/2 x 50 3/16 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 158 x 106.7 cm (62 3/16 x 42 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1974.108
Location: Not on view

Description

During the early 1700s, Roman artists returned to fundamental Christian subjects, especially those focused on the Christ child. This work presents the Holy Family with Christ’s maternal grandparents and baby cousin, John the Baptist, stressing the importance of family relationships. Saints Anne and Joachim hold books, probably representing the Old Testament, reinforcing Christianity’s connection to the older Hebrew tradition. Trevisani’s tender visual language also looks explicitly back to Guido Reni, whose graceful approach to religious art remained immensely inspirational throughout the century.
  • Count Lorenzo Sferra-Carini (Rome, Italy), by inheritance to his heirs.
    Heirs of Lorenzo Sferra-Carini
    Band heirs, Rome
    Hazlitt Gallery (London, England), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 444;; Mentioned: p. 443-445
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Mentioned: p. 98; Reproduced: p. 74, no. 51 www.jstor.org
    Olszewski, Edward J. “A Rediscovered Holy Family by Francesco Trevisani.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 1 (January 1977): 25–36. Reproduced: p. 26; Mentioned: p. 25-36 www.jstor.org
    Olszewski, Edward J. “Liturgical Silver Commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740).” Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 8 (2003): 96–119. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 97 www.jstor.org
  • Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
    CMA, March 1975: "Year in Review," cat. CMA Bull., (March 1975), cat. no. 51, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Presentation Sketch for "The Holy Family with Saints Anne, Joachim, and John the Baptist" (for Santa Maria in Via Lata, Roma)|url=false|author=Francesco Trevisani|year=c. 1729|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.108