The Virgin being crowned by two angels
ca. 1639
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 8 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. (21.2 × 14 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(98)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene etching *The Virgin being crowned by angels*, created around 1639 by Italian artist Simone Cantarini, the Virgin Mary receives a divine coronation from a pair of ethereal angels. Cantarini, a prominent Bolognese printmaker and painter of the Baroque era (1612–1648), drew inspiration from masters like Guido Reni, infusing his works with graceful figures and luminous spirituality. This intimate scene exemplifies 17th-century Catholic devotion, where the crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven symbolized her exalted role in Christian theology, a motif popular in Counter-Reformation art ...
About the Artist
Simone Cantarini · 1612–1648
He was one of the most eminent pupils of Guido Reni and one of the most gifted engravers in the tradition of the Carracci. He had a strong personality and developed a highly original style, which united aspects of Bolognese classicism with a bold naturalism. Comment on works: Religious