Artwork
Madonna with Little Saint John
Madonna with Little Saint John is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Alessandro Allori. It is held in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.
About this work
Overview
Alessandro Allori’s Madonna with Little Saint John was executed in 1613 on a copper support. The composition presents the Virgin Mary seated on a rock, cradling the infant John the Baptist, whose modest attire consists of a simple cloth around his waist. The work is part of the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a quiet devotional moment: Mary, dressed in white and red, holds the child who, in his right hand, grasps a snake, a symbol of the future martyrdom of John the Baptist. Adjacent objects, a bowl of water and a basket of fruit, reference baptismal rites and the abundance of divine grace.
Technique & Style
Allori employs the polished finish of copper to achieve luminous color, contrasting warm reds and cool blues. His handling of light and shadow, a chiaroscuro effect, gives the figures a three‑dimensional presence and separates them from a landscape background that includes a river, distant figures, and a donkey.
History & Provenance
Created during the late Mannerist phase that anticipates early Baroque sensibilities, the painting entered the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp’s holdings at an unspecified date, where it remains on display as part of the museum’s Italian Baroque collection.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori (Florence, 31 May 1535 – 22 September 1607) was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.
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