The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Perino del Vaga (Pietro Buonaccorsi), oil on wood, circa 1524-26. Florentine by birth, Perino del Vaga was trained in Raphael's workshop in Rome, where he soon became one of the most inventive artists of his generation. This is a rare early work and dates from the mid-1520s. The young Christ holds the traditional symbols of a goldfinch (symbolic of the Resurrection) and a cherry (signifying the delights of the blessed). More unusually, the young Saint John is crowned with grape leaves and wears a leopard skin, usually associated with the ancient god Bacchus. This mingling of pagan and Christian iconography reflects ideas prevalent in Florentine intellectual circles that attempted to reconcile classical wisdom with Christianity.