Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Roch
1530/45
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over black chalk, on buff laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
13.9 × 21.5 cm (5 1/2 × 8 1/2 in.)
Classification
ink and wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
82587
Art Historical Context
In the tranquil scene of *Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Roch*, Benedetto Carpaccio, a Venetian painter and son of the renowned Vittore Carpaccio, captures a tender moment of devotion. Dated between 1530 and 1545, this small-scale drawing (just 13.9 × 21.5 cm) exemplifies the High Renaissance tradition in Venice, where religious imagery emphasized grace, humanism, and spiritual intimacy. The Christ Child playfully reaches toward the Virgin Mary, flanked by the young John the Baptist and Saint Roch—patron against plague—reflecting the era's fervent piety amid recurring epidem...