“The Madonna and sleeping Child with the Infant St John the Baptist” (‘Il Silenzio’)
This oil on canvas painting from 1599-1600 is by the Italian Baroque artist, Annibale Carracci, and is titled “The Madonna and sleeping Child with the Infant St John the Baptist” (‘Il Silenzio’). In this piece, Mary is raising her finger to her lips warning John not to wake the sleeping Christ.
There is a plethora of works out there depicting St. John with Mary and the infant Christ. This was a very popular theme during the Renaissance and is the subject of many famous artists including Raphael, Correggio, Puligo, and Bronzino to name a few. In Carracci’s personal version, he depicts the infant Christ sleeping. There is a preparatory ink and chalk drawing of this piece which offers a glimpse into the workings and methods of Caracci.
Critics believe that the sleeping Christ alludes to his future sacrifice; seeing the table as a tomb, the cloth he is laying on as a shroud, and the cherries laying on the table as heaven. Those same critics believe that the depiction of Mary asking St. John not to disturb Christ may be alluding to Mary asking John not to awaken the Christ to his passion before his time.
This piece was bought by King George III of England in 1766 and is now in the British Royal Collection. Homage was paid to it in the painting by Francis Cotes titled “Queen Charlotte with Charlotte, Princess Royal”, from 1767, in which Queen Charlotte has her finger raised telling the viewer not to wake the sleeping princess.
“The Madonna and sleeping Child with the Infant St John the Baptist” (‘Il Silenzio’) is currently on display at the Cumberland Art Gallery at Hampton Court Palace in East Molesey, England.
For more on Annibale Carracci, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
