''Madonna and Child with Saints'' is a 1586 oil on canvas painting by

Agostino Carracci Agostino Carracci (or Caracci) (16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of ...

, dated on the lowest step of the Virgin Mary's throne. An example of a

sacra conversazione In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of saints ...

. Long in the Benedictine abbey of San Paolo in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, French troops took it to Paris in 1796 and on its return to Italy in 1816 it was moved to the Galleria nazionale di Parma, where it still hangs. From left to right the four accompanying saints are an unidentified bishop or abbot (some argue for

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...

, whilst Quintavalle identified him as

Nicholas of Bari Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

Margaret of Antioch Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr ( grc-gre, Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, o ...

(with a cross and a dragon), the infant

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

(with her palm of martyrdom, a book and a small organ). The figure kneeling to the Madonna's right was traditionally a painting's commissioner or his or her name-saint. Here that figure is Saint Margaret, showing it was commissioned for the abbey church by

Margherita Farnese Margherita Farnese (7 November 1567 – 13 April 1643), was an Italian noblewoman member of the House of Farnese and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Mantua during 1581–1583. Her marriage with the heir of the Duchy of Mantua was annulled af ...

(she was then its abbess, having joined the Benedictines after

Vincenzo Gonzaga Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat from 1587 to 1612. Biography Vincenzo was the only son of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Archduchess Eleanor of Aust ...

had their marriage annulled). She also studied music there with Giulio Cima, so assiduously that she was accused of an affair with him, rumours which the figure of Saint Cecilia in the painting may have been intended to dispel. Daniela Ferriani, 'Agostino Carracci, Madonna and Child with Saints'; in Lucia Fornari Schianchi (ed.) ''Galleria Nazionale di Parma. Catalogo delle opere, il Cinquecento'', Milano, 1998 The work's colour scheme, luminosity and silks show the influence of contemporary Venetian art, reinterpreted through the naturalistic Parmese lens of painters such as

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

, with Cecilia's pose also influenced by

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bo ...

References

{{16C-painting-stub Collections of the Galleria nazionale di Parma Paintings by Agostino Carracci Paintings of Saint Cecilia paintings depicting John the Baptist Paintings of Margaret the Virgin

Carracci The Carracci were a family of Italian artists. Notable members include: * Agostino Carracci (1557–1602), Italian painter and printmaker * Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), Italian Baroque painter and brother of Agostino Carracci * Ludovico Carra ...

Paintings of Benedict of Nursia Paintings of Saint Nicholas 1586 paintings