Virgin and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist

The statuesque figure of the Virgin Mary dominates the composition. Standing on her lap, the Christ Child removes a garland of flowers from his head and grasps the reed cross, which foreshadows the Crucifixion. The infant Saint John the Baptist, who carries the baptismal bowl, offers to the Child a bunch of wild strawberries, which refer to Christ’s fruitful and righteous life but also serve as a reminder of the blood spilled during the Passion. In the background an elderly Saint Elizabeth, the mother of John, looks down over Mary’s shoulder. The scene is set in a mountainous landscape as dawn is breaking, with a large fortress visible on top of a hill at left. The picture may have been painted for an acquaintance of Bronzino’s at the court of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Florence.