Michelangelo Buonarroti, Tondo Doni

Description

The Holy Family is composed as a sculptural group in the center of the tondo: the Madonna in the foreground, contrary to all previous iconography, does not have the Child in her arms, but turns on herself to take him from Joseph who is handing him to her while he is crouching behind her. She, crouched on the ground, has just stopped reading the book that is now closed and abandoned on her mantle between her legs. The little Jesus plays with his mother's hair, who has recently closed the book she was reading (the text probably symbolizes the prophecies related to the premature death of Jesus) to play with the child. Maria has a very virile and masculine build, visible especially in her arms. Moving your gaze to the background, it is possible to see the small St. John the Baptist on the right, while even further behind there are several groups of naked people, leaning against rocks; framing these groups there is a natural environment consisting of a lake, a meadow and mountains.