Maria Cleophas with children

Adriaen van Overbeke painted this Maria Cleophas with Children around 1515, depicting Mary of Clopas—the Virgin's sister and mother of several apostles—with the young James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude. Mary of Clopas was part of the Sacred Kinship tradition that expanded the Virgin's family to include several of the apostles as cousins of Christ, giving devotional paintings of the holy family a richer narrative scope. Van Overbeke's Brussels workshop treatment of this group shows his careful management of multiple child figures in natural poses, each individual child characterized through specific gesture and expression. The subject served both devotional and commemorative functions, the extended sacred family providing a broader range of intercessors than the nuclear Holy Family alone.

The panel demonstrates the artistic techniques characteristic of early sixteenth-century painting, with the careful rendering and color harmonies typical of the period's production.