1528-1588
Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth,
the Infant St. John the Baptist, and St. Justina
1565-70
Oil on canvas
40-7/8 x 62-1/4 in.

Called Veronese because of his birth and training in the city of Verona, Paolo Caliari gained his fame as a painter of frescoes and other major architectural commissions, as well as easel paintings, while living in Venice.

In this work, a sumptuously attired St. Justina, a patroness of Padua and Venice, is shown at right with the Holy Family. The infant Christ reaches toward St. Justina, demonstrating the favor in which she was held and her powers as an intercessor for the faithful. St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John, Christ's cousin, sits on the left, rolling swaddling clothes.

Veronese arranges the figures in a stately flow of interconnecting forms and renders them using a rich play of light and a perfect balance of warm and cool colors.