Holy Family with an Angel

Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli (1500-1569)
16th century, Oil on panel

The artist who painted this small panel is of local origin: Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli, a relative by marriage of the more famous Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503-1540), whose cousin he married, and whose surname, Mazzola, he adopted for promotional reasons. The painting depicts the Madonna in the centre, in a pink and green dress, holding a Child with a sculptural, almost adult physique. In the background are a tree, bushes and a landscape. The panel shows Girolamo's mimetic skill, as it is based on a Holy Family painted by Parmigianino for Pope Clement VII. Throughout his life, in fact, Bedoli tried to equal his more famous relative, at times simplifying and distorting the figures due to the limitations of literal imitation.