Bernhard Strigel's Holy Family (1520) is a rare surviving example of the Swabian master's religious painting, a genre in which he was historically overshadowed by his celebrated portraits of Emperor Maximilian I and the Augsburg elite [1]. Now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, this intimate panel—measuring just 72.5 × 60 cm—depicts the Virgin, Child, and Joseph in a composition that balances the artist's detailed, luminous portraiture with the devotional demands of early 16th-century altarpiece painting [3][4].
Born in Memmingen around 1461, Strigel was the most prominent member of a family of artists and likely trained under Zeitblom at Ulm [1]. His career was defined by service to Emperor Maximilian I, for whom he repeatedly traveled to Augsburg, Innsbruck, and Vienna [1]. While art historians have judged his religious paintings—including four altar wings with scenes from the Life of the Virgin in the Berlin Gallery and ten paintings illustrating the Genealogy of Christ in Nuremberg's Germanic Museum—as "historically interesting, but of less artistic value than his portraits," the Holy Family demonstrates the same meticulous handling and luminous color found in his best portrait work [1]. His portraits, such as the 1517 Conrad Rehlinger in Munich and the 1520 Councilor Cuspinian and Family in Berlin, are praised for their detailed execution and bright palette—qualities that carry into this devotional panel [1].
The painting is recorded in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (collection identifier Q95569), where it is documented under the title Holy Tribe in the museum's object database [3][4]. The Europeana record, provided by the Fine Arts Museum Vienna, confirms the Austrian institutional provenance [5].
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1520 | Painting executed by Bernhard Strigel [3] |
| Modern era | Held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Q95569) [3][4] |
The work's Europeana record identifies it as Holy Family with Angels, indicating the presence of angelic figures alongside the central trio of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus [5]. This iconography was well established in German Renaissance art, where the Holy Family served as a model of domestic piety and the angels reinforced the divine nature of the scene. Strigel's treatment reflects the early 16th-century shift toward intimate, emotionally resonant depictions of biblical narratives, a development shaped by the religious ferment of the Reformation era [1].
Strigel's training in the Swabian school and his exposure to contemporary artistic circles equipped him with the oil painting techniques that define this panel [1]. The "luminous color" for which his portraits are known [1] is evident in the Holy Family's rich palette, while the artist's detailed handling—honed in the service of imperial portraiture—lends the figures a tangible presence. The panel's modest dimensions (72.5 × 60 cm) suggest a private devotional context rather than a large public altarpiece, a format consistent with the growing market for personal religious images among the urban elite of Southern Germany [1][3].
Strigel's religious oeuvre, though less celebrated than his portraits, includes the Berlin Life of the Virgin wings and the Nuremberg Genealogy of Christ cycle [1]. Three works by the artist are held in Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, including a 1528 Portrait of a Man and a pair of religious paintings [1]. The Holy Family in Vienna stands as a compact example of how a court portraitist approached sacred subject matter, merging the observational precision of his secular work with the devotional requirements of religious art [1][3].
The painting is dated to 1520, according to the Wikidata record and the Kunsthistorisches Museum's object database [3][4].
The work is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria (collection Q95569), as confirmed by both the museum's database and the Europeana record provided by the Fine Arts Museum Vienna [3][4][5].
The panel measures 72.5 × 60 cm, a modest scale consistent with a private devotional work [3].
Bernhard Strigel (c. 1461 – 4 May 1528) was a German portrait and historical painter of the Swabian school, the most important of a family of artists established at Memmingen. He was born at Memmingen and was probably a pupil of Zeitblom at
German painter, 1460-1528
description: painting by Bernhard Strigel; inception: 1520-00-00; dimensions: +72.5 × +60 cm; collection: Q95569
Primary source record for this work (khm.at).
provider: Fine Arts Museum Vienna; country: Austria; year:
Louie Drehmer, Curator, ArtWiki
Louie curates ArtWiki, cross-referencing every entry against museum records, Wikidata, the Getty Union List of Artist Names, and Wikipedia.
Holy Family is an oil painting by Bernhard Strigel, 1520, held at Q95569.
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