Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) (Italian, Vercelli 1477–1549 Siena), Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, 1530s. Oil on wood, 48 7/16 × 32 7/8 in. (123 × 83.5 cm) Framed: 46 7/8 × 66 9/16 in. (119 × 169 cm). Private collection, UF.224. 

This striking unfinished painting reflects the artist’s long-term interest in Leonardo, whose works he would have seen in Milan, and the robust, sculptural styles of Michelangelo’s and Sebastiano del Piombo’s works. We do not know why it remains in this state, with the peripheral figures left incomplete, and it cannot be identified in the inventory of the artist’s studio, which did include a number of unfinished paintings. There is a strong possibility that the painting would have gone "as is" to a collector, and in this way it would join other works from the Sienese school that indicate a tolerance for the unresolved and incomplete.

This work is exhibited in the “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Invisible” exhibition, on view through September 4th, 2016. #MetBreuer