Madonna mit Kind und Heiligen

This panel probably dates from around 1540, the first years Bronzino spent working for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in Florence, and the National Gallery thinks it likely came out of that court. It shows the Virgin with the Christ Child, the elderly Saint Elizabeth behind her, and the infant John the Baptist at the lower right. The small details carry the meaning. Christ lifts a garland of flowers from his head, a sign of innocence or childish play, while his other hand reaches for John's thin reed cross, a hint of the Crucifixion he accepts. John holds up wild strawberries, which may point to a righteous life and to the blood of the Passion. The rocky backdrop gives almost no depth, so the figures press forward like a carved relief. The painting came to the National Gallery in 1941, bequeathed by Sir Lionel Faudel-Phillips, while the gallery's own pictures were stored in a slate quarry in north Wales, away from the bombing.