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The Virgin Mary, attired in a blue tunic and a loose-fitting carmine cloak, holds in her lap the naked Baby Jesus, who leans towards a bowl of cherries offered to him by St Catherine, who wears an elegant brocade dress and a rich headdress with precious metal coils. St Joseph, standing behind Mary, humbly takes his hat off while St Barbara, holding an open book in one hand and a peacock feather in the other, beholds the holy group. An angel with wings outspread plays the lute in front of a hybrid building that combines Late Gothic elements with Renaissance decorative features. A beautiful landscape bathed in a bluish light unfolds as a backdrop.
This painting has links with the Mannerist school that flourished in Antwerp, and more specifically with a group of anonymous painters active around 1520.
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