Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00000251The Holy Family on the Steps
About the Artwork
This deceptively simple composition represents a complex meditation on the Holy Family’s role in the redemption of humanity. At the center, Mary presents the Christ child to the world. At the left, Saint Elizabeth leans forward to foretell his eventual death, while her son, Saint John the Baptist, offers Jesus an apple, signifying humanity’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. At the right, Saint Joseph holds a compass, a sign of his occupation as a carpenter and also symbolic of God the Father. Poussin developed his composition meticulously and deliberately, using clear primary colors, simple forms, and a geometric organization to express the central importance of the Holy Family in Christian belief.
Provenance
Painted for Pierre Hennequin de Fresne (or version in Washington); [perhaps Reynière coll., Paris sale 1793; London sales 1797, 1801]; Lord Ashburton; J. Hervig-Smith, Devon (London sale 1908); (Quinto, Paris); Henri Lerolle (Paris sale 1944, as attributed); Bertin-Mourot coll.
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1981. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). A Painting in Focus: Nicolas Poussin's Holy Family on the Steps. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 14, 1999-January 23, 2000). long-term loan. Musée du Louvre (organizer) (February 1, 2000-January 31, 2002). Poussin and 17th century French Painting. Harvard University Art Museums/Fogg Art Museum (February 11-April 14, 2002). Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Collection, New York, NY (organizer) (November 8, 2006-January 28, 2007). Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (March 29-July 8, 2007). Poussin and God. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (organizer) (March 30-June 29, 2015).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594–1665)
- Date
- 1648
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 103.5 x 135.3 x 13.3 cm (40 3/4 x 53 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.); Unframed: 73.3 x 105.8 cm (28 7/8 x 41 5/8 in.); Former: 72.3 x 104 cm (28 7/16 x 40 15/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1981.18
More by Nicolas Poussin in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00000251
Powered by Art Trackers