The Virgin and Child at a table with the young John the Baptist
ca. 1600–1640
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 13/16 × 6 5/8 in. (19.8 × 16.8 cm) Plate: 7 1/2 × 6 5/16 in. (19.1 × 16.1 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(81)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Guido Reni, a leading Baroque artist from Bologna (1575–1642), captures a tender moment in *The Virgin and Child at a Table with the Young John the Baptist*, an etching dated around 1600–1640. The intimate scene depicts the Madonna gently interacting with the infant Christ, joined by the young Saint John the Baptist—often symbolized with a cross—evoking themes of divine innocence and prophecy central to Christian devotion. Reni's elegant, classical style, influenced by the Carracci school, shines through in the print's graceful figures and soft modeling, hallmarks of his refined Baroque sensi...
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...