The Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John (after Guercino)
after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
838 x 1105 mm (33 x 43 1/2 in)
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 872085
Caption
In this dramatically close-up scene, the Virgin is seated with the Christ Child asleep on a white cloth in her lap, a pose which alludes to later events when his mother supports his dead body, as depicted in a pietà, or the lamentation over the dead Christ. She gently points to the letters on the Infant Baptist's scroll, like a mother patiently helping a child to read, which says: 'Ecce Agnus Dei' ('Behold the Lamb of God'). According to the 1844 Saltram inventory catalogue this picture, a copy after the original now in the National Gallery in Scotland, was owned by Joshua Reynolds. It is highly probable that Reynolds, who may have acquired it when he was in Italy in 1750-51, passed it on to his friend and patron, John Parker (Lord Boringdon), whom he advised on buying pictures, at any time after 1766.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666), 17th century. The Madonna at the left, in red gown and dark blue cloak, with the child asleep on her knee, on a white cloth, she turns to John, standing at the right, who is puzzling over the words inscribed on his scroll: '[Ecce] Agnus [Dei'] (['Behold] the Lamb [of God']). The banderole was possibly retouched by Sir Joshua Reynolds who was possibly the previous owner of this painting. This is a copy of a painting by Guercino of around 1615 in the National Gallery, Edinburgh Scotland.
Provenance
According to the 1844 catalogue the picture was owned by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723 - 1792). It is highly probable that Reynolds, who may have acquired it when he was in Italy in 1750-51, passed it on to John Parker (Lord Boringdon), whom he advised on buying pictures, at any time after 1766; accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death-duties from the executors of Edmund Robert Parker, 4th Earl of Morley (1877-1951) and transferred to the National Trust in 1957
Makers and roles
after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666)