The Holy Family with Saint Clare

Art Historical Context

This etching, created between1590 and 160, captures the Holy Family alongside Saint Clare of Assisi in a tender devotional scene. Attributed to the design of Guido Reni, a leading figure of the Bolognese school whose graceful figures helped define early Baroque classicism, the print was executed and published by Nicolaus van Aelst, a Flemish printmaker active in Rome. Such collaborative efforts between painters and print specialists allowed religious imagery to reach wide audiences during the Counter-Reformation. Etching, the medium used here, offered artists a fluid line quality that could c...

About the Artist

Guido Reni|Nicolaus van Aelst · 1575–1642

Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...