Today is the Feast of the Visitation, which is recounted in Luke 1:39-57. Mary met her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. Feeling the presence of the Messiah, John jumped in his mother’s womb and was cleansed of Original Sin and filled with grace. Many Italian artists have portrayed the event, showing Mary and Elizabeth embracing.
Andrea Pisano, Visitation and Birth of the Baptist, bronze, 1330-6, Florence Baptistery
Giotto, Visitation, 1306, fresco, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua
Luca della Robbia, Visitation, c. 1445, glazed terracotta, San Giovanni Fuorcivitas, Pistoia
Lorenzo Monaco, The Visitation, 1405-10, tempera on wood, Courtauld Gallery, London
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Visitation, 1486-90, fresco, Tornabuoni Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Mariotto Albertinelli, Visitation, 1503, oil on wood, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Vittore Carpaccio, The Visitation, 1504-06, oil on canvas, Galleria Franchetti, Ca’ d’Oro, Venice
Jacopo Pontormo, Visitation, 1528-29, oil on wood, San Michele, Carmignano (Florence)
Ubaldo Gandolfi, The Visitation, c. 1767, oil on canvas, Private collection
Antonio Canova, Visitation, 1821–1822, plaster, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice