There is a definite intimate family atmosphere in Correggio's painting.
With elegance he succeeded in combining the chiaroscuro effects of Leonardo da Vinci, with the Classicism (notable in the column on the left) of Michelangelo and Raphael, giving the whole thing a mystical and fairy-tale aura, made special by the light which delicately permeates all parts of the composition.
This last aspect was to have a great influence over Baroque painting of the following centuries, as was the intense emotional and sentimental charge seen in the facial expressions and stances of the characters painted by this Emilian artist.
