Madonna e Bambino con san Giovannino (1599-1600)

Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609)

Madonna e Bambino con san Giovannino (The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist)
15991600
Oil on panel, diameter 29 cm
Museo del PradoMadrid

This late work whose composition recalls those of Raphael, is listed in the 1746 inventory of the La Granja Palace as a panel by Aníbal Caracho’s [sic.] hand, Our Lady sitting on the ground with the Infant Jesus on her lap and Young Saint John alongside, one third [of a rod] in diameter.

Born in Bologna in 1650, Annibale Carracci was the younger brother of Agostino and cousin of Ludovico. In some ways, he was the most important member of this family of artists, and the most widely influential outside Bolognese circles. He learned the late mannerist style while studying with his cousin in his hometown, including contact with Passarotti’s art. In 1594, he moved to Rome to work for cardinal Farnesio and his mature style, reminiscent of Raphael’s final and solemn lyricism, is one of the absolute summits of 17th-century painting. The final years of his life were marked by a long illness that led to the intense participation of his workshop in his final works.

Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Pintura italiana del S. XVII en España, Madrid, Universidad Fundación Valdecilla, 1965, p.100. (MNP)