Venetian master around 1600, Venetian master around 1600 The Holy Kinship

Oil on canvas, 117.5 × 102.5 cm

The painting shows the kinship of Jesus, unusually combined with the depiction of King David, from whose house Jesus came via his father Joseph. Many of the figures are identified by inscriptions. Mary and Anna are seated on the throne in a church building. Jesus is standing on Mary's hip, held by his mother and grandmother. John the Baptist, depicted as a young boy, kneels in reverent adoration before the infant Jesus, while below him rests the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei).

At the base of the throne, David lies in peaceful repose within his tomb, symbolizing the ancestral connection to Jesus through the lineage of Jesse, David's father. This lineage serves as the symbolic root of Christ's family tree. The arrangement of relatives around Mary and Anna is symmetrical, with two female relatives seated in the foreground alongside their children, likely Mary Cleophas and Mary Salome, Anna's daughters from subsequent marriages. Others stand behind the throne, forming a harmonious tableau.

Directly next to Mary stands St. Joseph, depicted with an axe and a lily, symbolizing his role as both a carpenter and the guardian of the Holy Family. The composition culminates with gathered curtains at the top, through which God the Father emerges, accompanied by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, bestowing his blessing upon his Son. Oil on canvas, 117.5 × 102.5 cm