The Infant Christ with John the Baptist and Two Angels
about 1615/20 | Peter Paul Rubens
The veneration of the Christ child and the idyllic character of the scene made it easier for the faithful to access the complex story of salvation. A story taken from the wealth of Christian legends supplied the basis for this depiction of John the Baptist and his parents visiting the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. Despite the religious connection, Rubens developed the position of Jesus and St. John from his occupation with antique sculptures, which also served as a model for his painting “The Four Rivers of Paradise” (Inv. No. GG 526).
The veneration of the Christ child and the idyllic character of the scene made it easier for the faithful to access the complex story of salvation. A story taken from the wealth of Christian legends supplied the basis for this depiction of John the Baptist and his parents visiting the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. Despite the religious connection, Rubens developed the position of Jesus and St. John from his occupation with antique sculptures, which also served as a model for his painting “The Four Rivers of Paradise” (Inv. No. GG 526).
Artist:
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 Siegen - 1640 Antwerpen) DNB
Time:
about 1615/20
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Flemish
Material/technology:
oak wood
Dimensions:
76,5 x 122,3 cm
Framed: 102,4 cm × 147,9 cm × 6,4 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 680
Provenance
1691 Coll. Juan Gaspar Enríquez Alonso de Cabrera; 1705 acquired by the later Charles VI; 1720 documented in the gallery