The Virgin in prayer looking up to the left, in an oval frame, after Reni
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 15 1/4 × 11 3/4 in. (38.7 × 29.9 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
51.501.4590
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving by the French printmaker Gilles Rousselet, dated 1665 and created after a composition by the Italian Baroque master Guido Reni, portrays the Virgin Mary in quiet prayer. Framed in an elegant oval, she lifts her gaze with a serene expression, her hands clasped in devotion. Reni’s graceful, classical style—marked by soft lighting and emotional restraint—is here translated into the precise lines of engraving, allowing the sacred image to reach a broader audience. In the seventeenth century, reproductive prints like this one played an essential role in spreading artistic and devoti...
About the Artist
Gilles Rousselet|Gilles Rousselet|Guido Reni (French|French|Italian) · 1614 |1614 |1575 –1686 |1686 |1642
French, Paris 1614–1686 Paris|French, Paris 1614–1686 Paris|Italian, Bologna 1575–1642 Bologna