Doni Tondo (Holy Family)

Michelangelo painted the Doni Tondo around 1507 for the marriage of Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi. The circular format (tondo) shows the Holy Family: Mary twists to receive the Christ child from Joseph, their bodies intertwining in complex, sculptural poses. Behind a low wall, nude youths represent the pagan world before Christ.

The brilliant colors, unusual for Michelangelo, may reflect his wish to rival contemporary Florentine painters. The figures' muscular bodies and twisted poses anticipate the Sistine Chapel ceiling he would begin the following year. The vivid blues and acidic greens shocked contemporaries accustomed to softer harmonies.

This is the only finished panel painting by Michelangelo that survives. The Uffizi displays it in its original frame, also designed by Michelangelo.