The Virgin and Child at a table with the young John the Baptist, after Reni
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 8 9/16 × 6 3/16 in. (21.7 × 15.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.5064
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching, titled *The Virgin and Child at a Table with the Young John the Baptist, after Reni*, captures a tender moment from 17th-century religious iconography. Created around 1600–40 by an anonymous artist with possible attribution to Anthony Bonenfant, it reproduces a composition by the renowned Bolognese Baroque master Guido Reni. The scene depicts the Virgin Mary and infant Christ seated at a table, joined by the young Saint John the Baptist—a popular motif symbolizing divine innocence, prophecy, and the Holy Family's sacred bond. Measuring just 8 9/16 × 6 3/16 inches, its in...
About the Artist
Guido Reni|Anonymous, 17th century|Anthony Bonenfant · 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...