The Holy Family

The drawing on which this engraving was modelled depicts the Madonna with the sleeping Christ Child, Joseph and John the Baptist. Based on John’s gesture, the work is also known as the Madonna del Silenzio (The Madonna of Silence). The work probably belongs to a group of works that Michelangelo made for his friend Vittoria Colonna, the widow of the Marquis of Pescara. Their strong bond was severed by Vittoria’s untimely death in 1547 that greatly affected Michelangelo, further intensifying his religious zeal.