(Rome 1499–1546 Mantua)
Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist,
oil on panel, 62 x 49.8 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Private European collection

This painting depicts the Madonna holding her Child to whom Saint John the Baptist, on the left, is handing a scroll with the writing “Ecce Agnus Dei”, a reference to the future Passion of Christ. The composition derives from the famous Raphael prototype, the so-called Madonna of the Rose, painted in 1517 and currently in the Museo del Prado (no. inv. P00302). The present painting is also set indoors, with the same green curtain on the right, but unlike the original there is no Saint Joseph on the left overlooking the group in the foreground. In his place, there is a shelf in the background holding a few books and a candle. The colour palette is also different compared to the Raphael prototype.

The subject was chosen multiple times in Raphael’s workshop which, after his death, was inherited by his most talented disciple Giulio Romano, whose entourage probably painted this panel. Giulio Romano also made a painting inspired by the Raphael prototype; it was the so-called Madonna di Novar, in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. In this case, the scene is set in a courtyard and Saint Joseph is visible in the background under an archway holding a lantern and leading a donkey.

In the present painting, Saint John is holding a yarn-winder cross, instead of the more conventional type found in the other two compositions mentioned above. This detail seems to be found only in the work of Leonardo and his disciples, showing how the anonymous artist also drew examples beyond those within Raphael and Giulio Romano’s entourages.