The Holy Family at Home

Exhibition
The Virgin and Child tenderly embrace as Jesus presses his cheek against Mary’s while she holds her son tightly. Joseph holds a spoon and lidded bowl.

The Holy Family (detail), about 1520, Gerard David. Oil on panel. Getty Museum

Northern European artists around 1500 adopted a fresh view of the Holy Family, portraying the Virgin Mary, Christ Child, and a devoted St. Joseph as a loving trio in a domestic interior. This exhibition celebrates the treatment of this theme in Getty’s recently acquired painting by Gerard David, while showcasing illuminated manuscripts and panel paintings of the period that shaped and reflected his approach. Together, these works highlight the late medieval view of the tender human relationships at the heart of the Christian story.

This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exposición se muestra en inglés y en español.

Sep 22, 2026–Jan 10, 2027

Getty Center

Museum West Pavilion, Plaza Level

Free

All exhibitions are included in your free, timed-entry reservation to Getty. Reservations are available six weeks in advance. Please note, there is a fee for parking.

Plan your visit

Selected Works

  • The Holy Family

    about 1520, Gerard David. Oil on panel. Getty Museum

    Oil painting of Mary holding the baby Jesus with Joseph in the background

  • The Holy Family from a Book of Hours

    about 1440–50, Workshop of the Bedford Master. Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig IX 6 (83.ML.102), fol. 181

  • The Virgin and Child from the Spinola Hours

    about 1510–1520, Workshop of the Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian. Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig IX 18 (83.ML.114), fol. 239v

  • The Flight into Egypt from the Crohin-La Fontaine Hours

    about 1480–1485 (?), Master of the Dresden Prayer Book or Workshop. Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment. Getty Museum, Ms. 23 (86.ML.606), fol. 114v

  • Madonna of the Cherries

    about 1520–1525, Quentin Metsys. Oil on panel. Getty Museum

    Oil portrait of Mary embracing the baby Jesus. She holds two cherries out in her right hand.

  • Virgin and Child

    about 1460, Dieric Bouts. Oil on panel. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Collection 75.2.14. Image: Photography by Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

  • Virgin and Child

    about 1460, Rogier van der Weyden. Oil on Masonite, transferred from canvas, originally on panel. The Huntington. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection. © 2026, Courtesy of The Huntington Art Museum, San Marino, California

Contact

Media Contacts: Cole Calhoun and Sidney Kantono

For press inquiries related to this exhibition, please email Cole Calhoun and Sidney Kantono.

Exhibition Checklist

To request a checklist of this exhibition, please contact both
manuscripts@getty.edu and paintings@getty.edu

Related Tours

Exhibition Resources

  1. Introducing Quentin Metsys: A Closer Look

    Video

    In this talk, curator Anne Woollett introduces the rediscovered painting, Madonna of the Cherries by Quentin Metsys.

  2. Flemish Manuscript Painting in Context: Recent Research

    Publication

    Edited by Elizabeth Morrison and Thomas Kren

  3. Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe

    Publication

    Edited by Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick