Die Heilige Familie mit der heiligen Elisabeth und dem Johannesknaben

By 1518 Raphael was the most sought-after painter in Rome, running a large workshop and buried under commissions from the pope himself. This big Holy Family was one of them, ordered by Pope Leo X as a diplomatic present for the French court, meant for Claude, the young queen of Francis I of France. Raphael signed and dated it, but by now his hands could not keep up with his name, and most of the actual painting was carried out by his assistants working from his design. It shows the Virgin lifting the Christ child from his cradle as Saint Elizabeth and the little John the Baptist look on, with Joseph behind and two angels scattering flowers. Sent north as a gift between courts, it has stayed in France ever since and hangs today in the Louvre.