The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John the Baptist

This vertical oil on canvas depicts a dark, candlelit scene in which the infant Jesus stands unclothed between the cloth-draped knees of his seated mother, The Virgin Mary, while holding hands with St Anne. Candlelight falls on the center of the canvas, illuminating the light skin tone of the infant Jesus, and the long red dress of his mother. Wearing a dark gray habit, St Anne sits to our left of Mary, leaning out of the shadow toward the light falling on Jesus. In the shadows are two other figures: a small dog curled up atop a scroll at our lower lefthand corner, and a stooped hooded figure in a brown cloak at our upper left – Joseph carrying a dim light. On our right, a taller toddler with medium-light skin tone peeks out from behind a table to watch Jesus – young John the Baptist.