Oil on wood 92.5 x 68 cm (114.5 x 89 cm with frame) Michele Tosini was born in 1503 in Badia di Passignano in Tuscany. After initial studies with the renowned painters Lorenzo di Credi and Antonio del Ceraiolo, the artist entered the famous workshop of master Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Ghirlandaio later accepted his name through his great talent and diligence. He was blessed not only by God with the grace of talent, but also ambitious and arduous. Thus he became a successful portraitist whose works were repeatedly confused with those of Bronzinos. He also painted religious motifs and allegorical scenes. In 1563 he assisted Giorgio Vasari in founding the Accademia del Disegno. As a result, these two gifted artists collaborated in the decoration of the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. Not only influenced by Vasari, Michele Tosini also inspired elements of Michelangelo's art. In later years of his work Tosini received several commissions for the painting of Florentine city gates. Michele Tosini was also chosen for the artistic award of the altar in the chapel of Villa Caserotta near San Casciano and for paintings at the tabernacle of the high altar of Santa Maria della Quercia in Viterbo. After the final departure of Ridolfo Ghirlandaios from the workshop, Tosini took over it and henceforth bore the name of the master. At that time, this studio was one of the largest and most prestigious in the Medici city of Florence. The theme of St. Family or Mary with the two boys, as well as portrait painting, are among the most important themes in the work of the painter Michele Tosini. In ever-changing variations, the artist has presented this scene in an incomparable manner for shrouded clients. The colors are fresh and fragrant. Mary sits in front of a landscape and the two little boys Christ and John are affectionately facing each other while Mary reads a book. A guardian angel observes the contemplative scenery over the right shoulder of Mary. This is a magnificent, representative painting from the late Florentine Renaissance.