Michelangelo's Holy Family in the Uffizi, Firenze

After the Gothic and early Renaissance galleries, there are the High Renaissance galleries. The visitor is able to follow the progression of artistic technique through the various halls until arriving at this masterpiece by Michelangelo. The Holy Family, the only Michelangelo painting in the Uffizi, is astonishing for its anatomical accuracy and its use of chiaroscuro in order to create depth, particularly in the folds of the clothing.  The picture's unusually bright colouring and the warmth and humanity of  its subject-matter, the love of two parents for their child, is also impressive as is the awkward pose of the Madonna as she bends backwards to take her child, introducing a sense of movement into the composition.

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