Italian school of the XVII century.

Italian school of the XVII century.
"Madonna and Child".
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Measurements: 73 x 58 cm; 90 x 75 cm (frame).

This maternity embodies with refined sensitivity the devotional and aesthetic ideals of the early Baroque. In this intimate and serene composition, the Virgin Mary is represented with the Child Jesus immersed in an atmosphere of tenderness, recollection and sacredness. The scene is organized in a vertical half-length format, with the Virgin slightly leaning towards the Child, in a gesture that denotes protection, affection and surrender. Mary lowers her gaze with half-closed eyelids, in a gesture of gentleness, while holding the Child with one hand and supporting Him with the other, manifesting an intense but contained connection. The Child Jesus, with curly blond hair and rosy cheeks, turns his face towards the viewer with a grave, almost meditative expression.

The treatment of the pictorial material is soft and meticulous, with an evident concern for tactile and luminous values. The artist models the faces with delicate transitions of light and shadow, achieving an effect of smooth and polished volume, reminiscent of the tradition of Bolognese masters such as Guido Reni or Francesco Albani. The palette is warm and balanced: the russet tones of Mary's tunic, the emerald green of her mantle and the ivory tones of the Child's clothing harmonize with great chromatic elegance. The dark background focuses attention on the bond between mother and child.

This Madonna and Child is an exquisite example of Italian religious painting of the 17th century, in which late Mannerist grace, Counter-Reformation piety and incipient Baroque emotionality converge. Through its luminous sensibility, the serene idealization of the faces and the controlled but eloquent gestures, the work manages to transmit both the humanity and the divinity of its protagonists, in an image that moves by its intimacy and elevates by its nobility.