CC0 · no rights reserved
The Holy Family with Mary Magdalen
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe Holy Family with Mary Magdalen, c. 1590–95. El Greco (Spanish, 1541–1614). Oil on canvas; 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.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Friends of The Cleveland Museum of Art in memory of J. H. Wade, 1926.247
Similar works
The Holy Family
Presentation Sketch for "The Holy Family with Saints Anne, Joachim, and John the Baptist" (for Santa Maria in Via Lata, Roma)
The Mystic Marriage of St Rose of Lima
The Holy Family with the Infant John the Baptist
Holy Family with Young Saint John
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria