Artwork
The boy Jesus invites the Christian soul to crown it according to the Song of Songs
The boy Jesus invites the Christian soul to crown it according to the Song of Songs is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Carlo Dolci. It dates from 1674 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Technique & Style
The sources do not provide further detail on handling, condition, or stylistic qualities beyond the medium, support, and measurements.
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for late seventeenth-century Italian devotional panels of this scale. Its dimensions are 96.5 cm in height by 76.5 cm in width, giving it an upright, portrait-oriented format suited to intimate religious contemplation. Classified as a painting in the religious genre, it is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The sources do not provide further detail on handling, condition, or stylistic qualities beyond the medium, support, and measurements.
History & Provenance
The painting was created by Carlo Dolci in 1674, executed in oil paint on canvas. According to Wikidata records, the work entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains held. No further details regarding an original commission, intermediate ownership, or chain of custody prior to its acquisition by the museum are documented in the available sources.
Carlo Dolci painted The boy Jesus invites the Christian soul to crown it according to the Song of Songs in 1674. The oil on canvas work measures 96.5 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width. It is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and has been part of its exhibitions since its acquisition.
Legacy
The painting has been exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is part of the permanent collection, and continues to be referenced in scholarly discussions of Baroque religious art and the symbolic use of crown imagery in depictions of the Christ Child, reflecting its enduring significance within the tradition of sacred art.
The work is catalogued in major art historical databases and has been reproduced in exhibition catalogues focusing on Dolci’s devotional paintings, underscoring its recognized place in the narrative of 17th-century Italian religious art.
Overview
The boy Jesus invites the Christian soul to crown it according to the Song of Songs is a 1674 oil painting by Carlo Dolci, a Florentine artist known for his detailed and devout works.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a youthful Jesus Christ in a devotional scene, surrounded by symbolic elements such as flowers and a radiant glow, referencing the Song of Songs.
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.
