The Virgin, the Infant Christ, Infant Saint John, and Two Angels
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
9 5/8 x 6 11/16 in. (24.5 x 17.0 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.78
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created in 1516 by Agostino Veneziano, also known as Agostino dei Musi, this delicate engraving captures a tender gathering of holy figures: the Virgin Mary cradling the Christ Child, the young Saint John the Baptist, and two attendant angels. Working during the height of the Italian Renaissance, Veneziano specialized in reproductive prints translated paintings by masters such as Raphael into widely accessible images. His precise line work and subtle tonal gradations demonstrate the technical sophistication of early sixteenth-century engraving. Printmaking held profound cultural importance at...