Peter Paul Rubens

(Siegen, 1577 - Anversa, 1640)

Circle of

Oil on canvas

cm. 165x116,5. Framed

This elegant and elaborate composition features Saint Elizabeth, Saint Zechariah, and their young son John the Baptist. The scene, strongly symbolic in character, represents the passage from the Old to the New Testament. The classical references - a broken column and a marble relief, the temple columns immediately behind the figures, and the ruins in the background - serve as an allusion to the dominance of the Roman Empire, which is about to come to an end in anticipation of a new era under the aegis of Christ. The painting reveals a complex visual culture, which, while rooted in a Flemish framework, incorporates strong Italian influences, particularly Venetian (Paolo Veronese), as well as Bolognese and Roman elements.