Visitation (La Visitación)

This is one of the scenes set entirely in the open air, in this case at the doors of the home of the saints Zechariah and Elizabeth. The mass of white clouds placed in the centre of the composition towards the right gives greater luminosity to the painting as a whole except for the left-hand side where two women are seated on the floor, talking in the shade of the house.

In the centre of the composition, Elizabeth takes her cousin Mary's hands in a loving way while behind her Zechariah emerges to receive her with open arms. On the left, slightly set back from the foreground, Saint Joseph watches the two women's meeting holding the flowering staff and dressed in a striking yellow cloak. The light is focused on the Virgin's pink tunic and Elizabeth's blue cloak, which stand out against the simple architecture in the background. The very classical, serene face of the Virgin echoes her expression in the scene Marriage of the Virgin (Los desposorios de la Virgen).

On the right, a group of people talk together next to a parapet under the white clouds, blue sky and tree branches that frame the composition on this side. The figures, executed in earthy tones, lack the definition afforded to the main characters.

See  Revelation to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne for a history of the complete set of works housed in this church.