Christ Child: Study for the Madonna di San Giovanni
c. 1565
Medium
Black and red chalk, with pastel and stumping, on greenish-blue laid paper
Dimensions
40.1 × 26.3 cm (15 13/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
111737
Art Historical Context
Federico Barocci, a leading Italian artist of the late 16th century from Urbino, created this tender drawing around 1565 as a preparatory study for his *Madonna di San Giovanni*, a devotional painting destined for the church of San Giovanni Battista in Urbino. Barocci bridged Mannerism and the emerging Baroque with his soft, luminous style, influenced by Raphael and Correggio. His works often emphasized emotional intimacy and graceful forms, perfectly suited to Counter-Reformation ideals that sought to inspire faith through beauty. Rendered in black and red chalk, pastel, and stumping on gree...
About the Artist
Federico Barocci · 1535–1612
Federico Barocci (c. 1535–1612) was an Italian painter from Urbino whose luminous, emotionally tender religious paintings made him one of the most original and influential artists of the late sixteenth century, bridging Mannerism and the early Baroque. Born in Urbino, the city of Raphael, he studied under Battista Franco and traveled to Rome, where he absorbed the lessons of Raphael, Correggio, an...