Artwork
Maria mit Kind und Johannesknaben
Maria mit Kind und Johannesknaben is an unspecified painting by the High Baroque Italian artist Carlo Cignani. It dates from 1673 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 22.7 cm in height by 16.9 cm in width. It depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Jesus alongside the young John the Baptist, rendered with delicate chiaroscuro and a soft, intimate composition typical of late‑Baroque religious art.
History & Provenance
The work later entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, where it is currently housed at the Alte Pinakothek.
Carlo Cignani created the painting Maria mit Kind und Johannesknaben in 1673. The artwork is classified as a religious painting depicting the Madonna and Child. Details regarding its original commission or early ownership chain are not established in the available records.
The work later entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, where it is currently housed at the Alte Pinakothek.
The painting is housed in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. It was accessioned under the inventory number that belongs to the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The work has not been documented in any major exhibition catalogues according to the available sources.
Context
Carlo Cignani's 1673 oil painting Maria mit Kind und Johannesknaben, depicting the Madonna and Child with Saint John the Child, resides in the Alte Pinakothek's Bavarian State Painting Collections. The work has been discussed in art historical scholarship focusing on Cignani's role within 17th-century Bolognese classicism and its influence on later religious painting genres. Its composition and iconography have been analyzed in relation to contemporary devotional practices and artistic trends in Northern Italy.
Overview
Carlo Cignani’s 1673 oil painting Maria mit Kind und Johannesknaben belongs to the High Baroque period in Italy. Executed in Bologna, the work is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. It presents a quiet, intimate scene that diverges from the more vigorous compositions typical of earlier Bolognese classicism.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas portrays a shirtless male figure cradling a small child who reaches toward a luminous, winged presence above. Two additional winged heads emerge from the sky, one clutching a palm frond, suggesting a religious narrative that intertwines the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, and a youthful John the Baptist.
Artist & collection
Artist
Carlo Cignani (Italian pronunciation:; 15 May 1628 – 8 September 1719) was an Italian painter.
