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The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret
Also known as: The Holy Family with the Infant St. John and St. Margaret
About the Artwork
This monumental tondo, among Filippino’s most significant works, was commissioned by Neapolitan cardinal Oliviero Carafa, a leading political and ecclesiastical figure. The painter’s ingenious composition harmoniously overlaps five brilliantly colored divine figures within the challenging circular format. Behind a low wall adorned with sacred and domestic objects, Joseph observes the intertwined group of Mary holding Christ, who embraces his cousin John the Baptist, supported by Saint Margaret. Created during Filippino’s Roman years (1488–93), the painting reflects the inspiration he drew from ancient art. The preparatory drawing reveals how he reimagined Greco-Roman figures—his sketch of an antique Venus statue was refashioned into Saint Margaret—while the weathered pier references remnants of ancient architectural and decorative motifs, illustrating Filippino’s deep engagement with the fragments of antique murals, sculpture, and architecture throughout the city.
Provenance
c. 1488-93–1511: Presumably commissioned by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa (1430–1511), Rome 1511–: Presumably in Carafa collections by descent, Rome and Naples by 1815: Palazzo Santangelo (formerly Palazzo Diomede Carafa until 1814), Naples 1898–1901: Acquired at Palazzo Diomded Carafa or at Villa Santangelo, Pollena, from the Santangelo family and Ignazio Virzì by Bernardo Berenson and Edward Perry Warren for Susan Cornelia Clarke (Mrs. Samuel Dennis Warren Sr.) (1825–1901), Boston 1901–1928: By descent to Cornelia, Edward, Fiske, and Samuel Warren in Boston and Lewes House, East Sussex, United Kingdom 1928–1929: Bequeathed to H. Asa Thomas by Edward Warren (1860–1928) 1929: Sold by H. Asa Thomas through Harold Woodbury Parsons to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1932: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Classic to Baroque: A Style Change in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-November 13, 1949). Art and Humanism in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 23-February 25, 1962). Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971). Filippino Lippi and Rome. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 26, 2025-February 22, 2026).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Filippino Lippi (Italian, c. 1457–1504)
- Date
- c. 1488–93
- Medium
- tempera and oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 184 x 186 x 9.5 cm (72 7/16 x 73 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.); Diameter: 153 cm (60 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Medieval Art
- Credit line
- The Delia E. Holden Fund and a fund donated as a memorial to Mrs. Holden by her children: Guerdon S. Holden, Delia Holden White, Roberta Holden Bole, Emery Holden Greenough, Gertrude Holden McGinley
- Accession no.
- 1932.227
More by Filippino Lippi in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009139
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