Madonna with Child

The delicacy of the image, the softness of the motion that the Virgin uses to embrace the little Jesus, the range of colors ... These are the same clues that refer to an artist from Emilia, probably operating in Bologna in the second half of the seventeenth century. Distant echoes of Correggio still inspire the sweet brush stroke that welcomes the gentleness of the portrayed scene. But the influence of Guido Reni seems more appropriate, because the artist tends here to a model of feminine beauty that is more ideal than real. In fact, the two figures, as far as they are concerned, are slightly different. The child is delightful, with red cheeks and imperturbable sleep. The mother is more austere, revealing a face built with precise geometric proportions.