Holy Family with a Shepherd

Battista Dossi’s ‘Holy Family with a Shepherd’ dates to the early 1520s. It is an oil on canvas. The scene includes Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, and a shepherd. The painting is held at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The composition features a pastoral landscape. A shepherd stands to the right, holding a staff. The figures are illuminated by a soft, diffused light.

Battista Dossi worked mainly in Ferrara. He collaborated frequently with his brother Dosso Dossi. His work from Raphael’s studio period is scarce.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, https://clevelandart.org/art/1949.185