Virgin Embracing the Christ Child
Medium
Etching; second state of three
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed to plate): 5 9/16 × 4 1/2 in. (14.2 × 11.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-298
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate etching *Virgin Embracing the Christ* (ca. 1641), Italian artist Stefano della Bella captures a tender moment of maternal devotion, a quintessential Baroque motif of the Madonna cradling the infant Jesus. Created during della Bella's time in Paris, where he collaborated with publishers like Pierre Mariette, this small-scale print (just 5 9/16 × 4 1/2 inches) exemplifies the devotional art popular in Counter-Reformation Europe. The close embrace evokes emotional intimacy, drawing viewers into the sacred bond between mother and divine child, a theme that resonated deeply in 17th-...
About the Artist
Stefano della Bella|Pierre Mariette · 1610–1664
Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) was one of the most prolific and versatile printmakers of the Italian Baroque period, leaving behind 1,052 prints and several thousand drawings that captured the vivid essence of 17th-century European life. Born in Florence on May 18, 1610, to a family of artists, he trained initially as a goldsmith before studying painting under Cesare Dandini and etching under Rem...