Virgin and Sleeping Christ Child with the Infant John the Baptist

The drawing, Virgin and Sleeping Christ Child with the Infant John the Baptist, is attributed to an artist working in Italy between 1700 and 1799, following the influential compositions of Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael (1483-1520). This sophisticated drawing classification was executed with precision using pen and brown ink and brush and gray and brown wash. The composition was initially sketched lightly, as evidenced by subtle traces of graphite beneath the final ink and wash layers applied to the tan laid paper.

This work demonstrates the enduring appeal of Raphael’s High Renaissance iconography centuries after his death. The figures occupy a tightly composed, devotional space, with the sleeping Christ Child serving as the central focus for the surrounding reverence of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Saint John the Baptist. The skillful application of wash creates soft shadows and defined contours, lending the scene an intimate, contemplative quality.

The eighteenth-century Italian tradition often relied on copying or reinterpreting the visual language of the Renaissance masters as a pedagogical tool and a method of preserving classical artistic ideals. This particular drawing may have served as a study for a subsequent painting, or perhaps a design intended for reproductive prints, helping disseminate the celebrated High Renaissance compositions across Europe. This exceptional example of an Italian drawing, executed in the style of Raphael, is preserved in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Due to the artwork’s age and prominence within a major institution, high-resolution images are often made available to scholars and the public through initiatives dedicated to promoting public domain art.