Artwork
Maria With Child
Maria With Child is an unspecified painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Carlo Dolci. It dates from 1665 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It portrays the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ Child, a motif rooted in the iconographic tradition of maternal tenderness and divine incarnation.
The painting depicts the Madonna and Child, a devotional subject central to Christian religious art. It portrays the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ Child, a motif rooted in the iconographic tradition of maternal tenderness and divine incarnation. In Carlo Dolci's handling, the theme reflects the Counter-Reformation emphasis on intimate, emotionally direct sacred imagery, inviting the viewer into quiet contemplation of the holy figures.
The work belongs to the genre of religious painting, and its main subject is identified as the Madonna and Child, with Mary and the Christ Child explicitly named as the figures depicted.
History & Provenance
Maria With Child is a religious painting by Carlo Dolci dated 1665. The work was created in that year and subsequently entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it is currently held. Beyond its date of inception and present institutional ownership, the sources do not provide additional details regarding the circumstances of its commission, intermediate ownership, or earlier provenance.
The painting is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains part of the museum's holdings. According to the Wikidata record, the work is catalogued under that institution's inventory and is located there. No specific accession number is provided in the available sources.
No exhibition history is documented in the provided records; the sources confirm only the work's current institutional home rather than any prior loans, displays, or curatorial appearances.
Overview
Carlo Dolci, a Florentine painter of the mid‑seventeenth century, completed the work titled Maria with Child in 1665. Executed in the early Baroque idiom, the canvas presents a devotional scene that belongs to Dolci’s series of meticulously finished religious images. The painting is presently part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Technique & Style
Dolci employs a refined chiaroscuro, allowing the light to illuminate the faces and the folds of Mary’s robe while the surrounding space recedes into a warm, diffused glow. Soft shadows model the figures, creating a subtle three‑dimensionality. The painter’s characteristic smooth finish and careful rendering of textures reflect his reputation for producing highly polished devotional images.
Artist & collection
Artist
Carlo (or Carlino) Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) was an Italian Baroque painter active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions.
