Madonna with Child Saints Anthony Francis Mazzola Bedoli
Madonna and Child with St. Joseph Adored by St. Anthony of Padua, St. Francis of Assisi and St. John the Evangelist, by Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli (1533)
In this Adoration with the Saints, baby Jesus is depicted with his arms outstretched, a clear allusion to the Crucifixion. The spectator is asked to contemplate the death of Christ, also evoked by his static pose. The other figures are also motionless: their gestures are affected and their expressions are inscrutable. They resemble the classical style sculptural ornament that appears curiously against the bucolic background.
Stylistically, this painting has much in common with Bedoli's first public commission in Parma, an Immaculate Conception now held in the city's National Gallery. Bedoli executed these works in the few years following Parmigianino's return to the city in 1530. The elegance and pronounced artificiality of this painting are strongly linked to Parmigianino's singular style.
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