Madonna and Child with Little St. John the Baptist

The Flemish artist Pieter de Witte employs a honed Florentine style to depict this perennial subject in Italian art. The Madonna’s peaceful, loving face recalls Raphael’s archetypal images of Mary. Her great stature and oversized limbs are borrowed from later artists like Andrea del Sarto, and the ruddy checks and curly hair of the infant Christ are seen in the children painted by Rosso Fiorentino.

Pieter de Witte came to Florence at age ten, and he remained in the city for over two decades. He assisted Giorgio Vasari in decorating the city’s cathedral as well as the Vatican. He also painted religious altarpieces for nearby Volterra. In 1586, he transferred to Munich where he was a prolific court artist for the remainder of his long life.