Saint Mary Salome and Her Family

Bernhard Strigel

National Gallery of Art

This painting features five people sitting or kneeling alongside a brown bird. In the center, a woman in a red gown holds an open book, looking downward. She wears a white head-covering and a dark green shawl. To her left, a man with a dark beard wears a red tunic and wide-brimmed red hat, while to her right, another bearded man in a bright green fur-lined cloak looks towards the woman, one hand flat on his chest. A child in white stands to the right of the woman in front of the man in the green cloak, his hand in the open book the woman holds, looking down into the pages. The woman and the two men appear to sit on a brown wooden bench. In the bottom left corner, on the green floor, another person sits on a small wooden block, holding another open book. This person has short brown hair and a pink robe. To the right of this person is a large brown bird, its wings raised upward. The bird, seated person, young child, and woman all have golden halos. All of the people have pale skin. The wall behind those on the bench is textured gold.