The visitation

This Visitation, held in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, depicts the meeting between the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, both miraculously pregnant. Though associated with Andrea del Sarto, the dating to 1593 places it well after the master's death in 1530, indicating it is likely a copy or a work by a later follower. The Visitation was one of the great subjects of Florentine devotional painting, and del Sarto's compositions of this theme were widely admired and copied. The painting testifies to the enduring influence of del Sarto's devotional manner throughout the sixteenth century.

The composition follows del Sarto's characteristic treatment of the Visitation, with the two women meeting in an embrace or greeting against a landscape background. The sfumato modeling and warm palette echo del Sarto's technique, though the handling suggests a later interpreter working from the master's established compositions and visual vocabulary.