The holy family with St John 1500

Andrea Mantegna painted ‘The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist’ in the late 15th century, on a wood panel with tempera. Mantegna was a painter of the early Italian Renaissance, a time of radical social change, with the emerging merchant class beginning to challenge the old feudal structures. The Catholic church, a major power broker of the time, needed to adapt to these changes in order to maintain its position. The church was the primary patron of the arts, using paintings to reinforce its cultural dominance. In this cultural and political context, Mantegna creates an image of vulnerable humanity, contrasting to the established tradition of portraying religious figures as powerful and aloof. The humanity in the image would have been revolutionary, creating a sense of intimacy that encouraged devotion. As an art historian, I would look at how the image creates meaning through its cultural references and historical associations, researching the economic structures, political movements and religious beliefs that influenced its creation.