The Holy Family with Two Angels
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
plate: 8 11/16 x 5 7/8 in. (22 x 15 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.70.4(78)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Guido Reni, a figure of the Bolognese school in the early 17th-century Baroque era, masterfully captures tenderness and grace in *The Holy Family with Two*. This etching depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the Christ Child, flanked by Saint Joseph and two ethereal angels—a classic devotional motif popular during the Counter-Reformation. Reni's style, blending Raphael's classical elegance with Caravaggesque drama, infuses the scene with serene beauty and emotional depth, making it a quintessential example of Italian religious art that aimed to inspire faith and contemplation. As an etching, the w...
About the Artist
Guido Reni · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...