Attributed to Girolamo Marchesi, called Girolamo da Cotignola Cotignola circa 1471 - 1550

Joachim de Sousa - Leão, Rio de Janeiro;
Thence by descent.

The subject matter of the present Holy Family is somewhat more recondite than usual.  The Virgin holds a table on which is inscribed in Latin a rather cryptic inscription which can be translated as “After 70 weeks, he shall be slain, Christ, Daniel.”  The reference is to the book of Daniel 9: 24-26.  The scripture, which is visionary and thus somewhat obscure in nature, discussed the “seventy weeks” that Jerusalem had to redeem itself in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.  Christian theologians naturally considered this to be a reference to the coming of Christ and his ultimate crucifixion.  The symbolism is furthered in the present painting by the handful of flowers, in which a small cross is hidden, that the Madonna holds out for the Infant Christ to tread upon.

We are grateful to Everett Fahy for suggesting a tentative attribution to Girolamo Marchesi, called Girolamo da Cotignola.